- Two local appliance and tile stores said tariff impacts are causing changes to their business model in the form of sourcing more domestic suppliers.
- That's following impacts such as increasing prices and shortening the length a price quote remains relevant.
- Watch the video to hear how these businesses are overcoming these obstacles to keep prices fair for customers.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Tariff negotiations continue to have effects that trickle down to our local community.
For two of our appliance and tile stores that's included increased prices and a shortened length of time for customer price quotes. We're finding out local businesses are overcoming these obstacles to keep prices fair for customers.
While global discussions continue around tariffs — President Trump announcing Sunday he wants 100% taxes on foreign films, also saying trade deals could be announced this week.
Right now, up to 145% tariffs remain on Chinese imports, with at least a 10% baseline tax for other countries.
Meanwhile local businesses in Leon County continue to adapt to impacts they're noticing.
"So we're seeing anywhere from 3% to 10% increases from our vendors already," said Cheryl Thompson, Sales and Design Professional at Sellers Tile Distributors.
Thompson said a lot of the vendors they work with import their products from Europe.
"Because they are getting the tariffs from... when they ship it here, they are then...filtering that down to the smaller guys like ourselves," said Thompson.
One of the reasons why they are looking at changing their business model, including sourcing more products made locally in the U.S.
Similar discussions are taking place at Mays-Munroe appliance store.
"We are, kind of, leaning more into our American manufacturers for that, so that we can have some stability in the pricing," said Mike Munroe, CEO of Mays-Munroe.
Munroe said they're seeing 10 to 12% increases: a $200 microwave is now $220.
However, Munroe said they have been preparing ahead of time so they can keep their prices competitive.
"We all, kind of, anticipated this happening, so we, kind of stocked up, and a lot of our manufacturers, especially the ones that don't build here in the U.S., definitely loaded up their warehouses as well," said Munroe.
Even then, Munroe said they are seeing some changes in domestic pricing as well
"I do know of a U.S. manufacturer that we don't carry that just announced a 12% price increase, which is crazy, because they build in Wisconsin," said Munroe.
Both businesses said me it's a numbers game right now and the big focus is ensuring consistency for customers — whatever it takes.
"Cut our profit a little bit to help accommodate to still let the client get what they want, you know, so that they can truly have their vision come to life," said Thompson.
One of the biggest differences for Mays-Munroe is they tell me their quote window has gotten shorter. For example, a quote used to be good for 90 days, that has now shrunk to 30 days because tariffs are causing prices to fluctuate.
If you are noticing other tariff impacts, please feel free to reach out to me at Maya.Sargent@WTXL.TV and let me know as we continue to track impacts alongside our local businesses.
Want to see more local news? Visit the WTXL ABC 27 Website.
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