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A14 BUSINESS
Thursday 19 sepTember 2024
Iconic Tupperware Brands seeks Chapter 11 bankruptcy

By W. GRANTHAM-PHILIPS 20th century particularly
AP Business Writer with the rise of Tupperware
NEW YORK (AP) — Tupper- parties, first held in 1948.
ware Brands, the company Tupperware parties nota-
that revolutionized food bly gave many women a
storage decades ago, has chance to run their own
filed for Chapter 11 bank- businesses out of their
ruptcy protection. Orlando, homes, selling the products
Florida-based Tupperware within social circles.
plans to continue operat- The system worked so well
ing during the bankruptcy that Tupperware eventually
proceedings and will seek removed its products from
court approval for a sale, stores. And in Tuesday’s
“in order to protect its icon- bankruptcy announce-
ic brand,” the company ment, the company main-
said just before midnight tained that there were no
on Tuesday. The compa- current changes to Tupper-
ny is seeking bankruptcy ware’s independent sales
protection amid growing consultant agreements.
struggles to revitalize its According to court docu-
business. Tupperware sales ments published Tuesday,
growth improved some Tupperware currently em-
during the early days of the ploys more than 5,450 em-
COVID-19 pandemic, but Colorful Tupperware products are seen in Bellflower, Calif. on Aug. 5, 2011. ployees across 41 countries
overall sales have been in Associated Press and additionally partners
steady decline since 2018 for failing to file its annual at about 50 cents apiece. and retailers like Target also with global sales force of
due to rising competition. results with the Securities “The reality is that the de- beefing up their own home over 465,000 consultants
And financial troubles have and Exchange Commis- cline at Tupperware is not storage and kichenware who sell products on a
continued to pile up for the sion earlier this year. And new,” Neil Saunders, man- brands. Tupperware’s roots freelance basis in nearly 70
company. Tupperware had continued aging director of Global- date back to 1946. Ac- countries.
Doubts around Tupper- to warn about its ability to Data, said in Wednesday cording to the company’s Tuesday’s announcement
ware’s future have floated stay afloat in more recent commentary. “It is very dif- website, shortly after the also pointed to aims to
around for some time. Last months, with an August ficult to see how the brand Great Depression, chemist “further advance Tupper-
year, the company sought securities filing pointing to can get back to its glory Earl Tupper found inspira- ware’s transformation into
additional financing as it “significant liquidity chal- days.” tion while creating molds a digital-first, technology-
warned investors about its lenges.” In Tuesday’s bank- Saunders explained that at a plastics factory setting led company,” possibly
ability to stay in business ruptcy petition, Tupper- many consumers have out on a mission to create signaling a move toward
and its risk of being delisted ware reported more than been migrating to cheap- an airtight seal for a plastic increased reliance of sales
from the New York Stock Ex- $1.2 billion in total debts er home storage brands container, similar to that on on the brand’s website or
change. and $679.5 million in total noting that competition a paint can, to help families perhaps more online-fo-
The company received assets. Shares for the com- has intensified over years, save money on food waste. cused marketing, although
an additional non-compli- pany have fallen 75% this particularly with the rise of The brand experienced ex- the company did not pro-
ance notice from the NYSE year and closed Tuesday online platforms like Temu plosive growth in the mid vide exact specifics. q

Google wins legal bid to overturn 1.5 billion euro antitrust fine in EU

digital ad case

By KELVIN CHAN Wednesday against a 1.49 that targeted its online ad- websites from running simi- tising markets, it said.
AP Business Writer billion euro ($1.66 billion) vertising business. larly placed ads sold by The ruling can be ap-
LONDON (AP) — Google European Union antitrust The EU’s General Court said Google’s rivals. The com- pealed, but only on points
won a court challenge on fine imposed five years ago it was throwing out the 2019 mission said when it issued of law, to the Court of Jus-
penalty imposed by the Eu- the penalty that Google’s tice, the bloc’s top court.
ropean Commission, which behavior resulted in ad- The commission said in a
is the 27-nation bloc’s top vertisers and website own- brief statement that it “will
antitrust enforcer. ers having less choice and carefully study the judg-
“The General Court annuls likely facing higher prices ment and reflect on pos-
the Commission’s decision that would be passed on to sible next steps.”
in its entirety,” the court consumers. Google said it changed its
said in a press release. But the General Court said contracts in 2016 to remove
The commission’s ruling ap- the commission “commit- the provisions in question,
plied to a narrow portion ted errors” when it assessed even before the commis-
of Google’s ad business: those clauses. sion imposed its decision.
ads that the U.S. tech giant The commission failed to “We are pleased that the
sold next to Google search demonstrate that Google’s court has recognised errors
results on third-party web- contracts deterred innova- in the original decision and
sites. tion, harmed consumers annulled the fine,” Google
Regulators had accused or helped the company said in a statement.
In this April 17, 2007 file photo, exhibitors work on laptop Google of inserting ex- hold on to and strengthen “We will review the full de-
computers in front of an illuminated sign of the Google logo at clusivity clauses in its con- its dominant position in na- cision closely.”q
the industrial fair Hannover Messe in Hanover, Germany. tracts that barred these tional online search adver-
Associated Press