Small US stores face holiday supply chaos

For Matt Hassett, founder of New York-based sleep wellness brand Loftie, the year-end holiday rush has always kept him on his toes.

- DEBORAH MARY SOPHIA SAVYATA MISHRA

A sign displayed in a window at an outlet mall in Carlsbad, California, on Tuesday.

(REUTERS)

But this time, it has turned chaotic as import tariffs on China, from where Loftie sources its sunrise lamps and phone-free alarm clocks, disrupted supply chain.

“It’s been very difficult to prepare. We have sold down to extremely low stock levels — we probably have about 10% of the inventory we need,’ he said earlier this week.

US President Donald Trump's tariff flip-flop on goods from China, a lifeline for US retailers, have forced small firms such as Loftie to choose between paying steep levies or finding new suppliers at even higher cost.

When Trump threatened tariffs as high as 180% on Chinese imports in mid-April, Mr Hassett explored shifting production to Thailand, where duties were lower.

But when the rates on China was later cutto 20%, the alternative factories with 20% higher production costs proved to be costlier than the tariffs.