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Company Overview - Tupperware Brand
Established in 1946 by Earl Tupper, Tupperware Brands sells products in different categories and across multiple brands via an independent sales force. Its main product categories include cookware, food storage, and food preparation. It also sells personal care and beauty products. It has a footprint in over 60 countries across more than five regions.
History
- Tupperware Brands was founded in 1946 by Earl Tupper. The company's founder was a self-educated plastics pioneer who worked at Doyle Works in 1936.
- By 1938, Earl Tupper was ready to venture off on his own and focus on research in plastics. In the same year, he left DuPont Co. and began his company, Earl S. Tupper Co. His company stayed afloat by creating plastic parts for gas masks, while he continued researching polyethylene.
- He proceeded to modify and make his own refining process by looking for appealing forms of plastic. In 1942, he developed a durable and safe plastic that could be used for storing food. The plastic was lightweight, flexible but unbreakable, odorless, clear, and nontoxic. He named this plastic Poly-T and worked on refining the product even further.
- By 1946, Earl Tupper established Tupperware Brands. He started developing serving and food storage materials using the Poly-T plastic he refined. The following year, these containers were enhanced with the special and innovative Tupperware airtight seal.
- Soon after, Earl Tupper found department and hardware stores that were willing to retail the product. However, these stores found it hard to get customers to buy them, because the customers did not know how to use the seal and were unaware of the benefits of the Poly-T material.
Growth: 1950s-1970s
- In the late 1940s, Tupperware Brands was finally selling rapidly after some direct sellers of "Stanley Home Products added Tupperware to their demonstrations. " The product was more successful via direct selling, as sales professionals could describe the benefits of the plastic and show how the seal was used.
- Brownie Wise, a single mother, was the most successful direct seller of Tupperware at the time. She was later hired by the company in 1951 to help develop a direct selling system that works. A few months after, the brand created a subsidiary known as Tupperware Home Parties and stopped selling via retail.
- In 1954, the company recruited almost 9,000 independent consultants, most of whom were enthusiastic and upbeat women. As a result, by the late 1950s, Tupperware Brands' sales skyrocketed. The company's sales multiplied by over 20 times within three years. With little to no advertising, it became a household name and most well-known.
- By 1958, Earl Tupper sold the company to Rexall Drug. Still, the company remained successful as sales doubled every few years in the 1960s and 1970s. Tupperware Brands entered foreign markets in the late 1950s. The company's first international market entry was Canada in 1958. Soon after, it expanded to Latin America, Japan, and Europe.
- In the 1970s, due to its international expansion, the company surpassed $500 million in sales. At the time, Regall Drug - its parent company - became Dart Industries and merged with Kraft Inc. They changed Tupperware Brands to Tupperware Internationals
Growth: 1980s to date
- Tupperware's growth slipped in the 1980s due to increased competition from brands like Rubbermaid and Eagle Affiliates, as well as, an economic recovery that led to its part-time sales professionals finding jobs elsewhere. Sales continued to plummet. Sales dropped from $827 million to $777 million in 1984 and later to $762 million.
- The company decided to employ a new management team in 1985. The new team made some changes that boosted employee morale and company sales. Tupperware introduced a new line of cookware in 1985 called Ultra21. This new line showed significant growth while its traditional storage containers still struggled. By 1986, Dart and Kraft reversed their merger. As a result, Tupperware's profits increased by 48%.
- Tupperware's finances were uneven at first until several changes were made, such as introducing 100 new products from 1994 to 1996, cutting costs, moving to direct mail, and improving its recruiting efforts. By 1996, these changes improved Tupperware's finances. It reached sales of $1.4 billion and earnings of $235 million that year. In May 1996, Tupperware became an independent public company. Its stocks rose to $55 per share.
- In the late 1990s, Tupperware expanded to India, China, and Russia. The company's sales declined again due to the loss of some of its sales representatives, as well as, the fact that it prohibited the sale of its products online. It later diversified its distribution channel, developed new product lines, and expanded to new geographical areas. Although its stock price and sales still declined, its customer loyalty was unmatched.
- In the early 2000s, the company bought out BeautiControl, thus entering a new market. It faced strong competition as cheap and disposable plastic containers from Ziploc and similar companies were becoming popular. At the times, North America only accounted for 20% of the company's sales. About 50% of its global revenue came from Europe.
- In 2003, Tupperware completely shut down its Great Britain direct sales operation and kept other distribution centers open. At the same time, it kept expanding its product range with products like dishes and cookware.
- In 2005, Tupperware was renamed Tupperware Brands. It expanded its beauty category by buying out Sara Lee's "direct-sale, beauty supply line for around $560 million."
Countries & Headquarters
- Tupperware Brands operates in almost 100 countries under its "seven brands: Tupperware, Avroy Shlain, Fuller, NaturCare, Nutrimetics and Nuvo." It has a strong presence in Europe, North America, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, South America, and Pacific.
- In North America, it operates in Canada, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, the US, and Puerto Rico.
- In South America, it operates in Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
- In Europe, Tupperware operates in over 40 countries, including the UK, Portugal, Ukraine, Spain, Russia, France, Malta, Germany, Cyprus, Poland, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Austria.
- In Africa & the Middle East, it operates in Algeria, South Africa, Tunisia, Egypt, Lebanon, and Morocco.
- In Asia & the Pacific, it operates in about 14 countries, including Australia, China, India, Israel, Malaysia, Korea, the Philippines, and Vietnam.
- Tupperware sells its products through an independent sales force or via the direct-to-consumer channel. In each of the aforementioned countries, Tupperware has distributors. The company also has a website in some of these countries that its products can be bought on.
- The company is headquartered in Orlando, Florida. Depending on the exact products, its price point is $5 to $279.
Paid Advertising & Financials
- In different countries it operates it, Tupperware Brands leverages TV ads - which it pays for. The company has several marketing agencies in different countries that facilitate these ads.
- In September 2019, it launched a TV campaign in India titled "More Time Living." As described by an executive at the company "'More Time Living', is inspired from the magical nature of our products and how they not only save time, but fill each moment with delight." The campaigns went live on leading entertainment channels in India, such as Animal Planet, TLC, and Discovery.
- In 2017, Tupperware's revenue grew by 1.93% to $2.26 billion, while in 2018, the company's sales fell to $2.07 billion (a revenue growth of -8.25%).
- In 2018, its gross profit was $1.38 billion, down from $1.5 billion the previous year.
- Tupperware's cost of goods sold was $692.2 million in 2018, down from $744.3 million in 2017.