End of the Tupperware party? After almost 80 years, the iconic brand famous the world
- Iconic Tupperware parties in suburban homes captured the popular imagination
- In an SEC filing Tupperware Brands warned it was having accounting issues
- The company doubted whether it would be able to fund itself for another year
Tupperware Brands has indicated its business may not survive due to waning demand for its plastic containers and mounting debt.
In a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Friday, the company said it was in a ‘challenging financial condition’ and would miss its deadline to file a 2023 annual report.
It also indicated it may not have sufficient liquidity to sustain operations for another year.
‘The company’s accounting department has experienced, and continues to experience, significant attrition which has resulted in resource and skill-set gaps, strained resources and a loss of continuity of knowledge,’ read the filing.
Tupperware was founded in 1946 by chemist Earl Tupper and became famous for its airtight food storage containers made from polyethylene.
Tupperware Brands has indicated its business may not survive in an SEC filing on Friday
A group of unspecified women attend a Tupperware party, some wearing hats fashioned from Tupperware products, in around 1955
Its products soared in popularity throughout the 1950s thanks in part to its iconic ‘Tupperware parties’, in which a salesperson would visit somebody’s home to demonstrate and sell the containers.
Iconic Tupperware parties have captured the popular imagination ever since.
For example, Dixie Longate is a drag queen persona known as ‘Tupperware Lady’. She is played by the actor Kris Andersson and known for her comic skits in which she sells the plastic wares.
The COVID-19 pandemic provided a boost in Tupperware sales as families stayed indoors and cooked more meals at home.
Since then, the company has suffered from poor sales and accrued increasing debt, causing its share price to slide to its lowest-ever levels.
It was trading at $1.34 on Friday, down from a high of almost $100 in 2013.
The company first raised substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern nearly a year ago.
Dixie Longate aka the Tupperware Lady performs in Westwood, California
Tupperware Brands shares were trading for $1.34 on Friday, down from a high of almost $100 in 2013
Since then, it appointed consumer goods industry veteran Laurie Ann Goldman as its CEO.
After it discovered prior period misstatements in its financial reporting, it hired investment bank Moelis & Co to explore strategic alternatives and struck an agreement to restructure its debt.
It plans to complete its due processes and file its 10K for 2023 ‘as promptly as possible’ but added that ‘there can be no assurance with respect to the timing of completion of the filing’.
Earlier this year, Tupperware was required to retain KPMG as its new independent auditor after the former auditor declined re-appointment.