Tupperware Manufacturers and a few of its subsidiaries have filed for Chapter 11 chapter safety and are looking for a purchaser, the meals container agency stated, after years of dwindling gross sales.
“During the last a number of years, the Firm’s monetary place has been severely impacted by the difficult macroeconomic setting,” president and CEO Laurie Ann Goldman stated in a press release Tuesday saying the chapter submitting.
“Because of this, we explored quite a few strategic choices and decided that is one of the best path ahead,” added Goldman.
The corporate stated it might search court docket approval for a sale course of for the enterprise to guard its model and “additional advance Tupperware’s transformation right into a digital-first, technology-led firm.”
The Orlando, Florida-based agency stated it might additionally search approval to proceed working through the chapter proceedings and would proceed to pay its workers and suppliers.
“We plan to proceed serving our valued prospects with the high-quality merchandise they love and belief all through this course of,” Goldman stated.
The chapter announcement had been within the pipeline for a number of weeks. In mid-August, the group stated it continued to “face important liquidity issues” and had doubts about its means to proceed its exercise.
In its submitting with the US Chapter Court docket for the District of Delaware, Tupperware listed belongings of between $500 million and $1 billion and liabilities of between $1 billion and $10 billion.
The submitting additionally stated it had between 50,000 and 100,000 collectors.
Tupperware shares closed at $0.5099 Monday, nicely down from $2.55 in December final yr. Buying and selling in them was suspended on Tuesday.
‘Out of trend
The 78-year-old firm grew to become well-known within the Nineteen Fifties and 60s with its “Tupperware Events,” the place buddies would collect with foods and drinks as an organization consultant demonstrated the gadgets.
Tupperware grew to become synonymous with hermetic plastic meals containers however its enterprise mannequin didn’t sustain with altering shopper calls for.
It was severely hit by the emergence of on-line commerce, the rise of meal deliveries and has additionally been a sufferer of shoppers turning to extra environmentally pleasant options.
“The celebration has been over for a while for Tupperware,” stated Susannah Streeter, head of cash and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown.
“Shifts in purchaser conduct pushed its containers out of trend, as shoppers have began to wean themselves off addictions to plastics and discover extra environmentally acutely aware methods of storing meals,” she stated.
The corporate has tried to adapt to modifications in consumption patterns by growing its on-line gross sales and getting into into distribution agreements with chain shops, however has been unable to halt its slide.
Tupperware stated it had applied a strategic plan to modernize its operations and drive efficiencies to ignite development following the appointment of a brand new administration group final yr.
“The Firm has made important progress and intends to proceed this vital transformation work.”
The corporate’s roots date to 1946, when chemist Earl Tupper “had a spark of inspiration whereas creating molds at a plastics manufacturing unit shortly after the Nice Despair,” in keeping with Tupperware’s web site.
Tupperware loved a growth interval through the Covid-19 pandemic earlier than seeing its gross sales slide. In 2022, within the final annual outcomes revealed by the group, Tupperware reported a turnover of $1.3 billion, down 42 p.c on 5 years earlier.
“Its makes an attempt to enchantment to youthful customers by promoting within the US chain Goal haven’t been as profitable as hoped,” stated Streeter.
“There’s nonetheless an opportunity a purchaser for the enterprise will be discovered, however with plastic seen as removed from implausible, amongst eco-aware shoppers, revitalising the model might be an uphill wrestle.”