Tariffying
Let's talk about tariffs. They're all over the news and the socials, and they've been the topic of wholesale conversation for the last month and a half. Of course, being the complete worrywart I am, I started stressing about them the minute the election was decided and started taking them into consideration. As for the wholesalers, they crammed their fingers into their ears and lalala'd until they actually started being declared. This was probably the best action, saving weeks of unnecessary stress, since NO ONE knew what was actually going to happen. And now we do, kind of.
Everyone has scrambled to come up with a plan on how to price out their Fall and Winter inventory. Every day brings a new email or three from vendors, outlining how they're going to deal with it.
There are several modes of action:
1) Raise prices according to the tariff.
2) Pause, or completely cease buying certain items (goodbye, Marshall branded ties)
3) Try to absorb some of the cost, and pass the rest to the retailer, at which point we would decide whether to absorb or pass on.
4) We're just going to rob you.
Several vendors print or assemble their pieces in the US, but source the parts from China. Most of these entities have rushed to bring in their base products (metal mugs, textiles, jewelry fittings) ahead of time to avoid the tariffs. While they have stock now, the future past this fall remains to be seen. My favorite company revised their price list, and for Chinese items, published exactly how much the tariff was going to be. Completely transparent, and also, if you can do math, you can see what their markup is. Eye-opening.
Most companies are giving us until June 1 to get Fall orders booked at their current prices. While it's not unusual to sometimes have to order items far in advance, this year it's everyone and requires me to be more of a crappy psychic than I normally have to be, which activates the worrywart gene once again. I CAN'T PREDICT THE FUTURE and I can only go on the normal forecasting techniques used over years of retail. Except, none of this is normal. Things like "we have a new coach" means the year will most likely be UP, while, "there's an election" means the year will be down (WORD). None of us are equipped to deal with "the guy in the White House is holding a grudge and doesn't understand international trade" as a condition for planning. And then, there is always just the rotten luck of picking the wrong styles (see my "Most Hated" Facebook posts for examples of abject failure). It's a LOT of insane in the membrane.
The biggest personal pain for me this year, unless something changes, will be the inability to produce some kind of an affordable, cool sweater. I will tell you this factory is indeed in China, and I spent a year developing a good relationship with my rep there to make sure we got the fit and style right. It was fun and exciting for me to learn something new and I am forever grateful that you all received them so well. I felt they were great quality and good value for the money. Of course, this could all change, and if it does before August or so, maybe I'll be able to invent something neat for this year. I'm of course prepared, but not holding my breath.
Anyway, I'm navigating all of this with the intent and assurance that I am doing my level best to keep a good selection of high quality items that are within a price point that all y'all have come to expect. Prices are going up, but I'm holding them down because I'm really good at shopping and I'm going to kiss and make it better.
-Sara
