Tupperware is a company whose sales force is organized via a tiered structure. They have consultants at the bottom who are overseen by managers. These managers are overseen by various levels of directors who report to Legacy Executive Directors at the top.
Tupperware Throughout the World
In 1960 Mila Pond hosted the first Tupperware party in Weybridge, England. She helped to invent a technique that came to be known as “carrot calling.” Here women adhered to a strict dress code consisting of skirts, stockings, and white gloves. They would then go from door to door to promote their parties. As they did so they’d ask a housewife to run an experiment for them in which they’d place a carrot inside of a Tupperware container and then compare it to what they’d typically store their carrots in. This comparison oftentimes led them to host a party.
In 1977 Rexall (who’d bought part of the company in 1958) sold his drugstores and re-branded himself as Dart Industries – eventually to emerge as Dart and Kraft (a.k.a. Premark International). They continued selling the product until 1996 when acquired by Illinois Tool Works.
China managed to get in on the Tupperware movement in a different way. Since they enacted pyramid selling laws in 1998 they weren’t legally permitted to use the party plan. As such, they sold these products through franchised entrepreneurial storefronts. By 2005 there were 1,900 of these such entities. Some other countries (e.g. Belgium, Australia, Ireland) also did something similar, selling Tupperware through mall kiosks instead of via the party plan.
Tupperware Today
Since the mid-1990s Tupperware has expanded to include stainless steel cookware, cutlery, knives, and gadgets. They created these new product lines to make themselves more attractive to a younger market. All of their products still come with a lifetime guarantee.
In 2003 they ceased operations in both the U.K. and Ireland saying that their customers weren’t satisfied with the direct sales model. Since then there hasn’t been much of this product imported or distributed in either of these countries despite aiming to have a relaunch in mid-2011.
Unfortunately, Tupperware hasn’t only ceased to exist in the U.K. but it’s also undergone some rocky times in other countries as well. For instance, in May 2018 it withdrew from Israel leaving 2,000 of its agents without a job. However, it’s since relaunched itself as an online company in December 2020. Then in March 2021, they ceased to operate in the Netherlands.
