Tupperwear Q1 hit by exchange rate on strong dollar

Tupperware Brands, the maker of food storage products and beauty products, announce big drop in sales, further exacerbated by a strong dollar impacting European results.

Total sales for the first quarter, ending March 31, fell to $462.8m from $543.4m in the corresonding period last year, representing a fall of 15 percent.

International beauty sales for the period fell by 10 percent to $62.1m, while North American beauty sales fell $87.4m by 24 percent.

The company said that the fall in European sales was mainly attributable to currency fluctuation rate, with the dollar proving particularly strong against the euro during the period.

However, company CE Rick Goings said that breaking down the results for the quarter, the results showed that in January and February consumer spending was virtually static, while in March there were distinct signs of improvement.