Dollar Tree may raise prices if tariffs enacted
By: Fernando Cervantes Jr.
USA Today
..... The current price of Dollar Tree's products may increase again due to President-elect Donald Trump's tariff plans, Dollar tree executive said.
..... Apart from increased prices, the discount retailer said that the proposed tariffs could also change what products customs could find at Dollar Tree stores.
..... During an earnings call on December, 4 [2024] Dollar Tree CEO Michale Creedon said Trump's plans to tax imported goods may lead to altered product sizes, or in some cases removing them from stores entirely if they become too expensive.
..... "We believe the is a wide rage of potential actions that we can take to help mitigate additional tariffs if and when they materialize," Creedon said during the call.
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Creedon did not say what products could be affected by the proposed tariffs, which could affect Family Dollar stores, owned by Dollar Tree.
..... Trump has threated to enact 25% tariffs on products form Mexico and Canada. In addition, Trump has threatened a 10% tariff on products from China.
..... An analysis done by KeyBanc Capital markets estimated that 40% of Dollar Tree's sales rely on imported goods, many of which come from china. In response to this, Dollar Tree said it would negotiate with vendors and change from which countries it would be importing goods.
..... The same tactic was sued by the company the last time Trump imposed tariffs during his first administration.
..... "Back in 2018 and 2019 when we last dealt with this issue, we were able to mitigate the majority of the potential impact by negotiation lower costs with our suppliers, changing product specs or pack sizes, or dropping non economical items. Today, [12/12/2024] all three of those options are still at our disposal," Creedon said.
..... Other retrials like Walmart and Best Buy have said they could be forced to raise prices due to the proposed tariffs.
..... "We're concerned that significantly increased tariffs could lead to increased costs for our customers at a time when they are still feeling the remnants of inflation," a Walmart spokesperson told Reuters.