Plastic dishware giant Tupperware is reportedly heading for bankruptcy, possibly as early as this week, after suffering another major sales decline in recent quarters.
At least that’s what Bloomberg News reported on Monday, citing sources familiar with the plans, according to Reuters.
The company, founded in 1946 by chemist Earl Tupper, had a flamboyant start in the 1950s when women even went so far as to organize “Tupperware parties” to sell the product, in a search for post-war independence, the news agency noted.
But the popularity of these plastic dishes is said to have fallen sharply in recent years, despite a sudden resurgence in interest during the pandemic, when families began cooking more in confinement.
On Monday, Bloomberg News reported that the company’s shares were down 15.8% in after-hours trading, to 43 cents.
The company is reportedly considering filing for court protection after seeking legal and financial advice, the US news agency reported.
The bankruptcy preparations follow lengthy negotiations between Tupperware and its lenders as the company faces debt of more than $700 million (C$951 million), according to Bloomberg News.
The company had already revealed last spring that it had “substantially” doubts about its ability to continue its activities.
This would be due in particular to “a sharp drop in the number of sellers, a decline in consumers on home products and a brand that still does not fully connect with young consumers”, had then analyzed Neil Saunders, retail analyst and general manager of Retail at Global Data.
