Tariff Advice from Retailers
Tara Riceberg owns Tesoro Beverly Hills and BestGiftStoreEver.com. Tara makes the most entertaining market videos that I have sever seen. I’m always excited when she pops up on my social media anytime I know a wholesale show is going on. Tara is great on camera and a veteran retailer, so I was not surprised that she was called on by a television news outlet this week to address tariff concerns from a small business perspective. Here’s the interview on Spectrum News: Businesses prepare for tariffs
From Spectrum News1:
Business owners like Tara Riceberg, who owns Tesoro Beverly Hills, said they’re growing increasingly concerned about the impact of tariffs on small businesses.
“The ripples of the tariffs affect all of us, and it’s deep,” she said. “It doesn’t seem to have an end to the depth of destruction it’s going to do to small business in our country.”
New data shows the U.S. GDP, which is the value of all goods and services, shrank at a 0.3% rate in the first quarter of the year, with imports driving the change as companies scrambled to respond to tariffs.
Julie Gaines is one of the smartest and funniest retailers that I have the pleasure of knowing, so I wanted to touch base with her on this topic. Here’s what she had to say:
“Tariffs suck! You can quote that. But seriously, we have shifted gears very swiftly. Looking at countries that don’t have tariffs or have 10% or less. By the way, one of those is Mexico. We are also spending more time looking for opportune buys and any product that hasn’t incurred price hikes. We are approaching this with a sense of humor. (Not that it’s funny at all.)”
Julie has never shied away from addressing current events and hot topics in her store windows at Fishs Eddy in New York City:
Julie Gaines continued…
“And lastly, you would be surprised how understanding people are. We have definitely raised our prices significantly on product that we just need from China, and people are paying it because in the end, it’s great product - so sell product that’s great! Be mindful of its value. We had a pasta that used to be $28, now it’s $42, and it’s actually worth $42. And yes, it’s still selling. I’m trying to balance that with product that is inexpensive, so we cover the whole gambit and we’re not perceived as a victim to tarrifs and we don’t have to hear ‘Oh, they’re so expensive now’.”
“I hope this helps. I’m with you, fellow retailers, I love that we have each other’s backs! And thank you, Becky always, always.” ~ Julie from Fishs Eddy
Interested to read more on this topic? Here’s a link to my 4/23/25 newsletter: Retailers React to Tariffs
I know many of you are feeling “punished” as small businesses these days. You are not alone in this concern. From adversity, comes innovation. I will continue to watch for glimmers of brilliance to share as small business owners —myself included— find ways to navigate business through 2025. Remember how pivoting business models during covid saved many indie retailers from closing shop for good? Keep reading for advice from several retailers who pivoted successfully during the pandemic and are using those lessons to prepare for the remainder of 2025 and beyond.