Tariff increases coming May 2019

Donald Trump announced today he's increasing tariffs on China imports this coming Friday:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/busin...=.984db0edb558

Whether this will come to pass we will find out shortly. When the tariffs were announced last fall, all the furniture makers were quick to respond with increases. So, if you are considering a purchase of a product that might be affected, might be smart to move on it this week. This affects a lot of product, even pieces that are made in the USA that may have components from China.

Boy Howdy, the new tariffs when into effect today....and on furniture from China its going to 25%. What does this mean to you? Well first of all - I have been calling around to all my suppliers looking to contact the CEO's and see what they have to say, and they are all mum right now. But folks, this is happening and its going to affect the price you pay on many items. Even things like Hancock and Moore's Just in Time Program, which is a USA-made product but most the leathers in that promotion come from a tannery in China. And the Hooker brand is really going to take a shot because so much of their product does come from China. I can't say how much percentage they will be taking, or when is effective, but it's almost surely on its way,

One thing to be aware of is that price quotes you are getting RIGHT NOW for items may not be good much longer, so please be aware that by the time you are ready to order you may very well have a price increase. If you are close to placing an order, my advice is to move on it very soon. Might save you some money. Don't think that just because its a USA made sofa, its not affected, either. Appx 1/3 of all fabrics used on sofas today come from fabric mills in China.

The furniture companies will not be absorbing this one, that I can just about guarantee.

Just curious, since a relatively few number of the leathers on the H&M website state where they are from. Is it only the protected leathers that come from China? Are all the full aniline and embossed leathers like caman coffee from places other than China? They have some unprotected leathers in grade 2, so i wondered if those might be Chinese also, because of the lower price. It will be interesting to see how they handle it, if they just move the Chinese hides from a price group 1 or 2 to a price group 2 or 3, or list which leathers are effected and add a premium percentage to them. Hopefully they have all this resolved by the end of the year when i will be looking at adding a recliner or ottoman. Since I am planning on a grade 5 embossed leather on the ottoman, I am hoping those are not going to be affected. It might dictate which I buy first.

The list of affected leathers is in the original thread here:

http://www.myfurnitureforum.com/show...al-springs-etc

Don't know how I missed that, but it is very helpful, thank you! None of the leathers I am considering are in there.

This new round of tariffs is causing quite a stir in executive offices of furniture makers - they are discussing how much they are going to have to add-in to cover the Federally mandated tariffs. Right now, I think we will see these increases arrive in a couple of weeks. I have been advised by some of the execs to tell my customers considering ordering pieces to get them in this week or next if they want to avoid this new round of increases. I know that sounds like a sales pitch! Truth is, I know there will be customers that didn't get the message and will call up and be upset over what will be the new prices. Anyways, it's definitely coming.

It does sound like a sales pitch, but all you have to do is watch the news to know its true.

Tariff increases from Hancock and Moore will be announced tomorrow, effective ONLY to hides and married covers cut and sewn in China. I'll post the info here tomorrow morning.

Doh! :(

Hancock & Moore will be instituting a 7 % increase on product that has Chinese leather-origin on their pieces effective Tuesday May 28th. Previously (since last Fall) the tariff was 3%, so this means a net increase of 4% off any quotes you may have had on this product. This includes most all of the Just in Time and a good portion of the Town and Country promotional pieces. This affects all dealers. Below is the 2018 list of leathers from China:

Alberta
Angelo
Aspen
Caress
Cavalier
Coventry
Document
Dream
Finesse
Juno
Kip
Longview
Piazza
Portfolio
Revival
Ryder
Viking

Leathers from other countries (Germany, Brazil, Italy, etc) are unaffected by this tariff and will not have increases. For The Keeping Room customers, I must have all orders in hand by Saturday the 25th as I am closed on Sun/Mon (26th/27th) if you want to place an order prior to the tariff increase.

Expect other makers to be rolling out their tariff increases shortly as well.

So, I guess there is not going to be Memorial Day sale like the last year?

There is a very aggressive special on Hancock and Moore going on right now on excess married cover items, Details here in the Sale / Specials section.

Century Furniture has announced a number of tariff increases on items as well as grade changes to leathers and fabrics too many to list here. Effective May 28th.

This Tariff pricing is a real headache for dealers and customers alike. No sale can be made quickly on new items, it requires checking to see if its tariff-affected.

H&M does have a tariff increase effective today on affected items - however they are allowing a one-day grace period (today) so if you were afraid you missed it, you have today to get in under the wire on it.

These are the affected H&M leathers.

Angelo
Aspen
Brunello
Cabrini
Caress
Cavalier
Coast
Document
Dream
Kistmet
Longview
Nirvana
Piazza
Portfolio
Revival
Tilton

In addition, these are leathers that don't originate from China, but are shipped to China for cut and sewn promotions, and as such are tariff affected. I know...confusing! Ask if you have a question:

Alberta
Juno (cut and sewn only married covers)
Kip (cut and sewn only married covers)
Viking

Hooker / Bradington Young is going up June 1 based on Federal tariffs. Looks to be on the order of 6 %. What a mess this all is, and not one is happy about it. There will be much pricing confusion for all while this gets sorted out.