Tupperware

Tupperware Brands Corporation

Type	Public (NYSE: TUP)
Founded	1946 in Orlando, Florida
Founder(s)	Earl S. Tupper
Key people	Rick Goings, Chairman and CEO
Website	www.tupperwarebrands.com

Tupperware is the name of a home products line that includes preparation, storage, and serving products for the kitchen and home, which were first introduced to the public in 1946.

Tupperware develops, manufactures, and internationally distributes its products by its parent company Tupperware Brands Corporation and it is marketed by means of direct sales through an independent sales force of approximately 1.9 million consultants.^[1] Tupperware is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tupperware Brands Corporation.

In today's common parlance, the brand name "Tupperware" has become a genericized trademark or eponym for any plastic storage container for the kitchen, not only Tupperware branded products. Similar usages are "Kleenex" and "Band-aid" in the United States, or "Hoover" and "Biro" in the UK and Australia.

Company history

Tupperware was developed in 1946 by Earl Silas Tupper (1907-1983) in the USA. He developed plastic containers used in households to contain food and keep it airtight. The formerly patented "burping seal" is a famous aspect of Tupperware, which distinguished it from competitors.

Tupperware pioneered the direct marketing strategy made famous by the Tupperware party. Brownie Wise (1913-1992), a former sales representative of Stanley Home Products, developed the strategy. During the early 1950s, Tupperware's sales and popularity exploded, thanks in large part to Wise's influence among women who sold Tupperware, and some of the famous "jubilees" celebrating the success of Tupperware ladies at lavish and outlandishly themed parties. Tupperware was known—at a time when women came back from working during World War II only to be told to "go back to the kitchen" -- as a method of empowering women, and giving them a toehold in the post-war business world. The tradition of Tupperware's "Jubilee" style events continues to this day, with rallies being held in major cities to recognize and reward top-selling and top-recruiting individuals, teams, and organizations.

In 1958, Earl Tupper fired Brownie Wise over general difference of opinion in the Tupperware business operation. It is believed that Tupper objected to the expenses incurred by the jubilee and other similar celebrations of Tupperware.^[2]

Tupperware spread to Europe in 1960 when Mila Pond hosted a Tupperware party in Weybridge, England, and subsequently around the world. In 2003, Tupperware closed down operations in the UK, citing customer dissatisfaction with their direct sales model as an issue ^[3], and relaunched after a restructuring in 2005.^{[citation needed]}

Tupperware is now sold in almost 100 countries, after peaking at more than a hundred after 1996.^[4] The top eleven consumers^[5] of Tupperware are:

1. Germany
2. USA
3. France
4. Mexico
5. Russia
6. Australia/New Zealand
7. Italy
8. Austria
9. South Africa
10. Japan
11. India

Tupperware parties

Tupperware is still sold mostly through a party plan, with rewards for hosts. A Tupperware party is run by a Tupperware consultant for a host who invites friends and neighbors into their home to see the product line. Tupperware hosts are rewarded with free products based on the level of sales made at their party. Parties also take place in workplaces, schools, and other community groups.

In most countries, Tupperware's sales force is organized in a tiered structure with consultants at the bottom, managers and star managers over them, and next various levels of directors, Legacy Executive Directors at the top level. In recent years, Tupperware has done away with distributorships in the U.S. This has allowed Tupperware more flexibility, and more generous commission and rewards for their consultants.

In recent years, Tupperware in North America has moved to a new business model which includes more emphasis on direct marketing channels and eliminated its dependency on authorized distributorships. This transition included such strategies as selling through Target stores in the US, and Superstores in Canada, with disappointing results. Tupperware states this hurt direct sales.^[6] In countries with a strong focus on marketing through parties (such as Germany and Australia/New Zealand), Tupperware's market share and profitability continue to grow.^{[citation needed]}

In many countries, Tupperware products come with a lifetime guarantee. In India, there are some restrictions on the lifetime guarantee clause. In the UK/Ireland the guarantee is 10 years.^[7] The company is best known for its plastic bowls and storage containers, however in recent years has branched out into stainless steel cookware, fine cutlery, chef's knives and other kitchen gadgets. After experiencing a slump in sales and public image in the mid-1990s, the company created several new product lines to attract a younger market.

In some countries including Belgium, Australia and the US, Tupperware market their parties and career opportunities through mall kiosks from time to time.

In China, Tupperware products are sold through franchised "entrepreneurial shopfronts", of which there were 1900 in 2005, due to laws enacted in 1998 aimed at pyramid selling.^[8][9] The Chinese characters 特百惠 are used as the brand name, and translate as "hundred benefit".

Product lines

One of the Tupperware's Ultraplus line product

Typical authentic Tupperware

Tupperware's product ranges are often marketed under different names in different markets, and the product ranges and colors themselves differ between markets. Some of Tupperware's most popular lines include:

• Modular Mates (US, AU), Space Savers (UK, now discontinued), Kompakt-System (DE): These are oval and rectangular shaped containers that stack in a modular fashion to save pantry space and preserve food. Modular Mates have air-tight seals intended to keep food at optimum freshness for long periods of time.
• Vent 'N Serve (US), Rock 'N Serve (AU), CrystalPlus (UK): These are containers for re-heating food in microwaves, and are advertised as freezer safe, stackable and dishwasher safe.
• FridgeSmart (US, UK, AU), PrimaKlima (DE): With air control vents, FridgeSmart containers are modular containers intended for refrigerated fruits and vegetables. FridgeSmarts which have air control vents intended to allow different levels of airflow around different types of fruits and vegetables, as well as a corrugated bottom to allow them to store securely on a refrigerator shelf.
• UltraPro (AU), UltraPlus (DE): plastic casseroles advertised as being safe when used in a microwave or a conventional oven, with heat resistant properties.
• Eleganzia (UK, DE), Illusions (AU): A "glasslike" range of serving dishes
• FlatOut! (US), MiniMax (UK, DE), Go Flex! (AU): Bowls that flatten for storage, and can be expanded when needed
• Stuffables (US), Bungee (DE): refrigerator storage with flexible lids for overfilling

"Chain of Confidence" program

On May 9, 2007, Tupperware announced Brooke Shields as the celebrity spokesperson for Tupperware’s "Chain of Confidence" campaign in the USA. The campaign invites women to celebrate the strong bonds of female friendships and the self-confidence derived from those relationships.

ChainOfConfidence.com serves as an online community where women can share their confidence stories with one another and join an online discussion about the importance of female friendships and confidence.

As part of Chain of Confidence, Tupperware is donating over one million dollars to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America to sponsor SMART Girls — a program dedicated to promoting confidence in young girls ages 8–17.

See also

• Tupperware Brands Corporation
• Earl Tupper

References

1. ^ "Tupperware Freshens Up the Party". The New York Times. July 7, 2007. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/07/business/07interview.html. Retrieved May 19, 2009. 
2. ^ "How Tupperware has conquered the world". The Daily Mail. January 18, 2007. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-429672/How-Tupperware-conquered-world.html. Retrieved May 19, 2009. 
3. ^ "Party is over for Tupperware UK". BBC News. January 22, 2003. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/2685755.stm. Retrieved May 19, 2009. 
4. ^ "Is Tupperware Dated? Not in the Global Market". The New York Times. May 26, 1996. http://www.nytimes.com/1996/05/26/business/investing-it-is-tupperware-dated-not-in-the-global-market.html?pagewanted=all. Retrieved May 19, 2009. 
5. ^ As reported at Tupperware's New South Wales State conference, 19 Feb 2008
6. ^ "Tupperware to End Partnership with Target Stores". The New York Times. June 19, 2003. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/19/business/company-news-tupperware-to-end-partnership-with-target-stores.html. Retrieved May 19, 2009. 
7. ^ "Customer Service". Tupperware UK & Ireland. http://www.tupperware.co.uk/service/1539.html. Retrieved 2009-05-19. 
8. ^ "Tupperware Party's Over, Says China". The Los Angeles Times. April 24, 1998. http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19980424&slug=2747051. Retrieved May 19, 2009. 
9. ^ "Tupperware adapts to serve diverse markets". Plastics News. November 17, 2005. http://www.plasticsnews.com/china/english/printer_en.html?id=1131755394. Retrieved May 19, 2009. 

External links

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• Tupperware USA official website
• Tupperware's Chain of Confidence official website
• Links to national Tupperware websites around the world
• Tupperware! program from PBS' American Experience, 2005
• "Selling Tupperware results in a full salad bowl of problems". Times Union. October 12, 2008. http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=728713. Retrieved May 19, 2009. 
• "Why Short Sellers Want to Crash the Tupperware Party". The New York Times. November 17, 2006. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/13/business/13short.html. Retrieved May 19, 2009.