Home goods retailer Williams-Sonoma is preparing for the possibility of new tariffs on products imported into the U.S. from China, with CFO Jeff Howie stating in a November earnings call that “everything is on the table.”
President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to implement tariffs anywhere between 60% and 100% on all imported Chinese goods once his term starts in January 2025. Given that, Howie said that Williams-Sonoma will likely opt to front-load some portion of the goods it makes in China before Trump takes office, and then potentially move some of its manufacturing out of China altogether if or when the new levies take effect.
“We’ve mapped out a category-by-category plan to reduce China sourcing if conditions warrant, and we’re currently evaluating and quantifying the impact from additional tariffs,” Howie said, detailing how the company is developing a “wide range of mitigation options.”
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In the earnings call, Howie noted that Williams-Sonoma has reduced the percentage of goods it sources in China from 50% to 25% over the last few years, while touting the fact that the U.S. is “already a major manufacturing hub” for the company. That said, he said that Williams-Sonoma is still prepared to further reduce its imports from China if tariffs do end up increasing. Howie also pointed to what he sees as a “competitive advantage” for the company in the days ahead, with Williams-Sonoma operating as the 11th largest container importer in the U.S., while running its own in-house global sourcing operation spread across 12 overseas offices.
“We have scale and relationships — others do not,” he said. “As the tariff landscape changes, we have the scale and strategy to pivot.”
