The business story dominating the news this week (aside from more layoffs) has been the bankruptcy and likely liquidation and disappearance of retailer Bed, Bath and Beyond’s 360 stores.
Less noticed is the potential bankruptcy of another retail icon: Tupperware.
In 2018, there was a featured the story of Tupperware. In the 1950s, inventor Earl Tupper’s new food storage product won awards for design and innovation, but simply wasn’t selling in traditional outlets like department stores.
A divorced single mom, Brownie Wise (pictured above), solved the problem by creating a new distribution channel.
Sales exploded after she began selling Tupperware through a new channel: social gatherings of housewives that came be known as “Tupperware parties.” She then built a national salesforce by recruiting other women to host their own Tupperware parties, offering an opportunity for a home-based business and additional income. Mary Kay Cosmetics and other well-known multi-level marketing enterprises later copied this strategy.
Everything ends unless renewed or reinvented. As businesspeople we need to learn from success and failures. “Tupperware: Why the household name could soon be history” is a quick read outlining what went wrong at such a successful enterprise. Check out the story on BB&B’s demise as well.
