“We believe we have a successful playbook to leverage from 2019 when tariffs move to the 25% level,” Fields said during the earnings call. “This included supplier concessions, cost savings and select price increases.”
E.l.f. Cosmetics is also diversifying its manufacturing outside of China, Fields said.
Skechers: John Vandemore, chief financial officer
Vendors are expected to absorb tariff costs
“Things are changing so quickly that the lack of stability really makes giving any forward perspective difficult because there’s so much uncertainty,” Vandemore said during an investor conference on March 4. “What I can tell you is at a product level, we believe we’re delivering an attractive value proposition for the consumer that’s yielding significantly improved gross margins, and we’ll continue to do that. We’ll continue to focus on that.
“I anticipate that your next question would be, ‘Okay, what are you going to potentially do if there are more tariffs or with these tariffs?’ And the answer is simply going to be the same things that we’ve done in the past. Whenever we’re faced with challenges like this, we work very closely with our vendors. We look to them to absorb some of the impact.”
Target: Brian Cornell, CEO
“Likely” price increases for bananas, avocados, and strawberries
Target warned of increasing prices for produce during its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings on March 4.
In a follow-up interview with CNBC after earnings, Cornell pinpointed Target’s heavy reliance on fruit imported from Mexico, impacting the prices of avocados, strawberries, and bananas.
“Those are categories where we’ll try to protect pricing, but the consumer will likely see price increases over the next couple of days,” Cornell told CNBC after earnings.
ThredUp: James Reinhart, cofounder, CEO, and director
Thrifted clothing will benefit as apparel prices rise
ThredUp reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings on March 3, and included data suggesting that there could be a boom in second-hand clothing if tariffs increase apparel prices—particularly since retailers rely heavily on China for manufacturing.
According to ThredUp’s own data, 62% of consumers are worried that government policies will increase apparel prices. And if tariffs make clothing more expensive, 59% of consumers will look for cheaper options like second-hand products.
“Our take is that with tariffs and inflation dominating the national conversation, consumers are concerned about price hikes across retail,” Reinhart said during the earnings call. “In this environment, second-hand could become more attractive for shoppers seeking out affordable high-quality clothing.”
Walmart: Doug McMillon, CEO
Growth will slow
Even though Walmart largely sources its products from the U.S., the retail giant isn’t immune to tariffs, McMillion told investors during its recent fiscal year fourth-quarter earnings.
