It can be easy to get discouraged by news about possible tariffs or talk of a looming recession, but speaking with others in the casual industry, it appears there is opportunity around every corner.
Susan Kiley, co-owner of Bay Breeze Patio in Miramar Beach, Florida, says she sees a lot of opportunities for U.S. manufacturers to strengthen their positions with independent dealers.
“China is never going to go away for our industry, but in certain categories, U.S. vendors could be more competitive,” she said. “For specialty retailers, we should have less competition from big-box retailers who have to buy so far ahead from China. For internet-direct retailers who sell very promotional merchandise, their offerings should look less promotional and less interesting.”
She says tariffs are the new Covid in the consumer’s eyes and consumers may be less trusting for a while as we watch this tug-of-war play out. “Our market is no different, but we still have tremendous growth and development going on, and for us, our ace is that we have a lot of inventory.”
And sometimes, the best strategy is to keep things simple.
Erik Mueller, CEO of Watson’s in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Plank & Hide, says the best opportunity for retailers and wholesalers is to understand who their customer is and create unique, realistic value.
“You can create that value a lot of different ways,” he said. “You can create that in your store. You can create that through innovative product. The challenges are what they are, but as a businessperson, your job is to figure out how to mitigate the challenge and continue to create value for the consumer or for the retailer.”
He says when you have the mass chaos that our industry has gone through, sometimes you need to focus and take a bit more of a simplistic view.
“My job is to create a widget that has a value,” he said. “And remember that value is in terms of today’s marketplace. So, yes, the marketplace is going to be different next year. That’s even more reason that you better shop hard and really consider changing up your mix and looking for values.”
Mike Friedrichson, national sales manager for Pasticallo Umbrellas, says one positive outcome of economic mayhem is that it forced retailers to reevaluate where they’re bringing in product from.
“Some started making that evaluation the last time this administration was in place, but with all the uncertainty, at the very least, if it does nothing more than just bring awareness to the consumer, then it’s a win. Consumers are seeing this in all different industries, whether it’s watches, socks, Fitbits or cars. If this raises awareness that not everything necessarily needs to come from overseas, specifically Asia, that makes a difference.”
He added that this is a battle the casual industry has been fighting for years.
“And at the end of the day, it’s a good thing that people know there are other options, even if they may be a bit more expensive,” he said. “There are countries that have the wherewithal to produce many of the products once made in China.”
There are silver linings to almost any situation, and the industry has found opportunity in places we may never have looked. This is a positive sign going into the Casual Market next month, and many are expecting a strong market with buyers and manufacturers who are ready to continue with business as usual.
