- Vivian Hoffman, who founded a female boutique, has been cautious due to tariff uncertainties.
- Hoffman said there are few alternatives from the United States to the products he buys from Canada, Mexico and China.
- Hoffman aims to maintain low prices and adapt to changes in the market in the midst of changing tariff policies.
Vivian Hoffman founded the Whim Love Boutique Chain in 2017, which has five locations in New York and Connecticut. Most of the Whim merchandise is sold for less than $ 100. Hoffman previously served as director of merchandise resources in Century 21 and has been in the retail industry for almost 50 years.
His business is affected by the changing tariff policy of President Donald Trump about the goods of Canada, Mexico and China, and possible retaliation tariffs.
This interview has been edited by length and clarity.
With the dutyWe are only extremely careful at this time. It is difficult to know exactly what is happening. I think it also depends on how Other countries They will react and then how we react.
We are buying much less and being very careful because we do not know how everything will affect not only the prices We are obtaining attitudes and consumers from consumers who want to buy.
We really don’t know what our Price increases They will be right now, and I think we are very afraid of it. Every day, it seems new. Every day, it is a new country, or perhaps it is a different percentage, or it is in these goods and not these goods, or starts tomorrow and does not start.
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Not many alternatives
A good percentage of suppliers that I buy from the importation of PorcelainBut I also buy a lot of denim. Many of the denim vendors manufacture in Mexico. We buy less from Canada, but we deal with some suppliers of Canadaalso. We get some sweaters and coats from Canada.
There are no really good alternatives. Directly for me like a retailerMaybe I could go buy from the fair brands of American manufacture, but in my market, there are not many of them. To be perfectly honest, the ones I know are much more expensive than the price at which we are at this time. When we can buy from US suppliers, we are doing it. But there are not many sweater companies made in the United States.
Our suppliers are moving their productions. I hear them move around the place, be it South America, Portugal or Bangladesh. I have heard so many different countries. But I know that in Mexico, many people have been doing jeans there, so I don’t know if my suppliers plan to move. Maybe the Sellers They are more directly affected in this second than retailers because we have one or two months until it reaches us directly.
We have to stay ahead of this. Our mission is to try to keep our prices low. So, the last thing I want to do is increase my prices, but we may have to do it. I am sure that we may have to transmit some of the price increases, but we are going to work as hard as possible to try to get the best possible prices so that we do not have to do too much of that.
We are looking, of course, Cost cutLike everyone else. We do not want to affect any of our employees, so we are seeing where we can reduce costs. But there are not many places. There is a bit of perhaps in our software or hardware or our insurance, but not much.
Survive through uncertainty
I have gone through difficult commercial experiences. I worked for a chain that had a store in the zero zone during September 11, and I maneuvered through that, but that was very difficult. Then, I opened my third store a week before the three stores closed for Covid, and I succeeded.
I feel that I had to take it week by week, day by day, and I feel that way with him duty right now. I am trying not to react too much. I am trying to be intelligent and try to advance. The key to me is to try to stay agile so that I can change as things change and try to remain less committed to what is usually for merchandise.
Maybe when things seem to calm down a little, that can change where I want to buy, who I want to buy. I have not really seen many price increases yet, but that is because my suppliers just start production now, and it has been for months.
The business is low
I think it’s very afraid because business, in general, are terrible everywhere. Last night I went to a restaurant, and the owner told me how empty the restaurant has been. I think there is so much fear out there.
I was in a large clothing exhibition in Las Vegas about three weeks ago, and I was listening to many complaints from the suppliers that traffic was Very down. Many merchants did not travel because they were afraid to spend the money to go to the shows because they do not know what will happen with the rates and the economy.
I also listened to all the retailers in the program that they were not writing many orders. They were writing much less than they generally do. People tell me that the business is always horrible in January and February, but when retailers say that the business is horrible in January and February, they are comparing it with previous years.
Even in a bad economy, at least for me, I want to do with my own store is to select the best possible selection. If I don’t have control over some of the prices, at least I have control over the selection.