Ask the CEO of Tupperware Brands, and he'll tell you Americans are cheap.
Rick Goings accused U.S. consumers of not valuing "quality" while explaining Tupperware's disappointing sales in North America, during an earnings call Tuesday.
"The USA is basically a Walmart market. Our top-tier products like the Microsteamer or the Ultra Plus -- that are 100-year-old products -- hard to sell them in the U.S. because that's a discount market over there," Goings said. "Take a look at the average brand of cab that you get in the New York cities. I mean, they're filthy; they're junk."
"They buy price," Goings said of Americans. "Europe buys quality, Japan quality."
Many of the biggest U.S. retailers are known for their low prices, especially Walmart, the largest retailer in the country.
Many Americans may gravitate towards discount goods because they don't have all that much money to spare. The median annual wage in 2010, according to the Social Security Administration, was just $26,364. And nearly half of Americans don't have enough savings to cover three months worth of expenses in case of an emergency, according to a recent report from the Corporation for Enterprise Development.
(Hat tip: The Wall Street Journal.)
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