After a year-long effort to revitalize the brand, Tupperware finally plans to file for bankruptcy. According to people familiar with the matter, the plan could be as soon as this week.
An anonymous source claims that Tupperware, a brand well known for its food storage, is in the process of entering court protection after a breach in terms of its debt and recruited legal and financial advisers.
After the plan was announced, the company’s shares (Nasdaq: TUP) dropped 57% to close at $0.5099 a piece on Monday.
The plan to file for bankruptcy came about following a drawn-out negotiation between Tupperware and its lender over how to manage its debt, which had ballooned to over $700 million. Although the company got some time to breathe on loan terms violation, the company’s situation did not improve.
Tupperware has been under scrutiny over its capability of staying in business after the company planned to shut down its only factory in the U.S. and lay off about 150 employees, remove the company’s own CEO Miguel Fernandez and some board members, and install Laurie Ann Goldman as the new CEO, in a bit to turn the business around.
Tupperware has made a name after the founder Earl Tupper invented a flexible airtight seal and used it in the company’s food storage product in 1946. The brand makes its way into American households largely through sales parties hosted by suburban housewives.
In its almost 80 years of operation, the company relies heavily on direct sales to numerous amateur vendors, with more than 300,000 independent salespeople as of 2022.
