Tupperware - Tupperware Parties

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 his or her 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. 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 decline.

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. 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, Ireland 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. The Chinese characters 特百惠 are used as the brand name, and translate as "hundred benefit".