Bankruptcy of Tupperware and Avon brands: when history and loyalty are not enough
Why Tupperware and Avon brands went bankrupt
One of the answers can be found in an article by analyst Arry Tanusondjaja from the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute . Both once iconic brands declared bankruptcy on the American market in 2024. Both had distribution based on direct sales using personal visits by salespeople to homes.
Their downfall points to an important lesson in modern marketing – it is not enough to rely only on customer loyalty, long history and product quality.
It is thanks to the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute and their “laws of growth” that we know that two things are necessary for the long-term growth of brands. Brands must be mentally accessible and must be in the customer’s sight and consciousness during their purchasing decisions. And they must also be physically available so that customers can easily buy them where they are used to.
Tupperware and Avon relied too much on customer loyalty and proven distribution channels. They expected that customers would be willing to wait for their next purchase to visit a salesperson in person or order by mail through a catalog. However, at a time when similar products are commonly available in brick-and-mortar stores or online, their customers naturally preferred simpler and faster solutions and shopped elsewhere.
Read the full article in Dennik.
