You’ve got to get up pretty early these days to see the latest (and certainly not the greatest) twists and turns in the world of retail. Tariffs continue to get all the headlines but there’s so much more going on out there, it’s really hard to keep track. Let’s start with the obvious.
Tariff Deal: Yes, China and Trump USA have agreed to a new deal to dial back tariffs for 90 days. That seems to be good news. It’s not. These new tariffs — 30 percent and 55 percent on certain products — are still substantially higher than they were before all of this crap started. And the 90-day window is far from solid. It could change, be cut, made longer, changed to 90 minutes. Once more, American importers have to scramble to try to figure out how to run their businesses. And they need to see how they can absorb a duty hit that has the potential to mark up their retrial prices by a third. That ain’t a little.
Kohl’s Kalamity: Just when we were digesting the scandal around deposed CEO Ashley Buchanan’s dallying with a romantic partner on favorable deals for goods for the store comes yet another direct hit. A key director has resigned from the board claiming all kinds of inappropriate actions by that board. This is getting really bad. All of these distractions — and let’s not forget the retailer doesn’t really have anybody running the joint now — aren’t hiding the fact that Kohl’s is broken and sinking fast. Its stock is down by nearly 50 percent since the start of the year and almost 90 percent since a 2021 pandemic-era high. They better fix this thing and they better do it fast.
Old Navy: The Gap division announced it is opening a new flagship store on New York City’s Herald Square next year in a big space catty-corner to Macy’s. What they didn’t say is that they are being kicked out of their current location down the block because the landlord leased it out from under them to Primark. In announcing the new space — which won’t open until next year and removes Old Navy from this neighborhood for what looks like at least a year — the company used all the ridiculous cliches that retailers love to mention: “differentiated shopping experience,” “immersive, digitally led experience” and “invites visitors and shoppers from around the world to come play with style.” I’ve seen Gap company stores that claimed similar feats of magic. They were just stores.
So many headlines…so many actual stories behind those headlines.
WarrensReport 