The American company "Tupperware", which makes the famous plastic storage boxes and other kitchen tools and sells them directly to consumers, is facing an uncertain fate.

The company admitted on the seventh of this month that it has "great doubts about its ability to continue its activity," and the price of its shares on the Wall Street Stock Exchange has since witnessed great fluctuations.

The share price collapsed by 50% on Monday after the company's warning, before recovering slightly and rising again on Thursday by more than 25%.

The company was founded in 1946 by Earl Tupper, who wanted to market his invention based on unbreakable, lightweight, resealable plastic containers.

The products were so innovative "that customers required demonstrations to understand how they worked," the company says on its website.

But the brand, which has achieved great success for decades, has lost its luster and its sales have halved in ten years, falling to $1.3 billion in 2022. The company lost $14 million last year.

Neil Saunders, a distribution specialist at Global Data, said that on the one hand, Tupperware is facing a decline in the number of its sellers, as the majority of sales are obtained by individual promoters who earn a percentage of the volume of sales they achieve, but the number of people who provide Orders regularly decreased from about 800 thousand at the end of 2012 to 284 thousand at the end of 2022.

Saunders pointed out that "Tupperware" products are no longer very popular, especially among young people. The company no longer offers highly innovative products and, in particular, has "lost a lot of market share to cheaper brands that can be found directly in stores".

In order to preserve food, some consumers are increasingly using containers that they have obtained during the purchase of ready-made meals or through delivery services.

The company has experimented with new strategies, including partnering with chain stores and expanding its online sales.

But in early March, its managing director, Miguel Fernandez, acknowledged that "2022 has been much more complex than we expected," between high inflation, continued health restrictions in China, the war in Ukraine weighing on consumer sentiment, a strengthening dollar and rising interest rates.

The company said last Friday that it had appointed financial advisors to help it "improve the capital structure and the level of short-term liquidity." The company is considering adding new investors or establishing financial partnerships, as well as selling some real estate.