Shortly after that, Trump threatened to put a 100% tariff on Barbie-maker Mattel after the company said it would raise prices on some toys due to tariffs. “He won’t sell one toy in the United States,” Trump said.
Following all that, Target executives reiterated that the chain was working hard to offset “the vast majority” of the tariffs.
“We have many levers to use in mitigating the impact of tariffs, and price is the very last resort,” Target CEO Brian Cornell told investors on an earnings call on Wednesday. The other levers include negotiating with suppliers, changing up product selection, shifting where items come from and reshuffling the timing of orders.
Home Depot executives on Tuesday asserted that the chain wasn’t looking at broad price hikes, but it might raise prices for individual items or switch up some product options if tariff costs prove too high.
Similarly, its rival Lowe’s said it would continue competing on price, keen to avoid losing shoppers to others with cheaper prices.
“We have tools that will allow us to manage this — and manage this in a way that we’re going to minimize any impacts to our customers,” Lowe’s CEO Marvin Ellison told investors on Wednesday’s earnings call. “In this environment, we’re going to be as keenly focused on competing on price as we are every single day.”
Lowe’s, Home Depot and all other retailers face growing pressure from suppliers, also, as they too are wrestling with tariffs. For example, the tool maker Stanley Black & Decker last month already said it had raised its prices to account for new tariffs and planned another price increase later this year.
