Rory O'Neill talks tariffs and holiday shopping

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Job mounts in for JT. Well, have you done any
of your Christmas jop? I know, I know it's still August,
but there are people out there who have already started
shopping for their Christmas presents. Probably not a bad idea,
but the tariffs they could hit hard. Let's find out
how hard as we check in with Rory O'Neill. Rory,
what's going on? What can I expect when I go shopping?

Speaker 2 (00:21):
Yeah, here's the thing, John, You know, we've talked about it,
and JT and I've spoken about it. It's not so
much the tariff, whether it's ten percent, twenty, thirty, fifty percent.

Speaker 3 (00:30):
It was the uncertainty.

Speaker 2 (00:31):
About the tariffs that led a lot of retailers to
sort of back off and.

Speaker 3 (00:36):
Just say, look, I don't know what's going to happen,
so let me just get.

Speaker 2 (00:38):
Some Christmas inventory out there. If I sell it, great,
If I don't, I'm not taking a huge loss or
it's not going to cost me a lot more. And
you know, the smaller shops they may only have say
fifty thousand dollars to put out there to buy it
for Christmas inventory, and if there's a twenty percent tariff,
just making that up they still only have, so that

(01:00):
means they're buying twenty percent less stuff.

Speaker 3 (01:02):
So this Wells Spargo report.

Speaker 2 (01:04):
Out this week really talks more about how these decisions
that retailers are making about trying to stock their shelves.
And the advice is, if you see something and you
like it out there, go buy it now because it
may not be on the shelf, especially when guys do
their shopping around December twenty third, because most smart shoppers
are already starting to pick up things they like, tuck

(01:26):
them away, and they'll have a big reveal in a
couple of months.

Speaker 1 (01:29):
I was talking to a small business owner out right.
He's my brother in law who runs they build turbo
chargers for cars, and he said one of the problems
he has is a lot of the parts that they
source are from well, you know, countries that we have
big tariffs going on. And the problem is he's very
careful about how much inventory he purchases, because if you
buy stuff that right now has a high is marked

(01:52):
up because of a tariff, and you have a bunch
of the stuff on the shelf, but then later on
that tariff drops, well you already bought it at the
inflated price. It's not like there's a tear rebate you
can go back and get. So I could see why
retailers would say, Okay, I'm just going to buy enough
of this stuff now to get by hopefully the price
won't increase. But you know, you're rolling the dice because
who knows there could be a four hundred pert you know,

(02:13):
Donald trumpets Maunt of China says a right four hundred
percent and now what you know, right, And.

Speaker 2 (02:16):
For a while it was those crazy high tariffs and
you know the India tariffs out this week and stuff
like that, So it really has been a challenge.

Speaker 3 (02:23):
Sure, look there's the walmarts.

Speaker 2 (02:25):
And the targets, and the cost goes whatever they're dealing
on a whole different plane. But when you look at
that gift shop on Main Street, right and what they
try to stock and what they wouldn't try to have
on the store shelves, that's been a real challenge for
them with the importers that they work with to try
to bring enough, not too much, not too little, but
try to find that sweet spot to bring inventory online

(02:47):
without having to raise prices.

Speaker 1 (02:49):
And what about you know something we all rely on
is when these not only for Christmas, just Halloween. Even decorations.
Usually that stuff we buy the cheapest possible junk, I
mean really cheap stuff and it's all a hundred percent
that's made in China. So decorations you might have to
trot out the ones from last year this.

Speaker 2 (03:06):
Year, well, right, and you know typically I mean maybe
you're the same way you sort of buy a refresh,
oh when they get a string or two of lights
and just do a little huge up to what you
already have.

Speaker 3 (03:15):
Well, yeah, to your point, you might be stuck to.

Speaker 2 (03:17):
Fully recycle because again, I think these inventories are going
to be limited. This Wells Fargo survey out this week
finds that sixty six percent of shoppers are already planning
to start a little bit early. I know we'll complain
about seeing those inflatables typically in the home improvement store,
in the warehouse store.

Speaker 3 (03:34):
You know, the Santa inflatable.

Speaker 2 (03:35):
Is going to be up around old next week, So
I know it's frustrating. But the advice as well is
look for those things that are made overseas, that we.

Speaker 3 (03:46):
Know were made overseas.

Speaker 2 (03:47):
Apparel, footwear, Those are the things that we might really
be seeing the tighter inventories.

Speaker 3 (03:52):
In addition to the decorations you mentioned.

Speaker 1 (03:55):
Roy O'Neil, thanks so much for giving us a little
bit of hopefully advice because it's good hope. But thank
you so much for joining us.

Speaker 2 (04:03):
It's not about the gifts. Just remember, it's not about
the gifts job.

Speaker 1 (04:06):
It's about the thought, absolutely and the tariff apparently. Roy O'Neil,
thanks so much for joining us. This morning on Alabama's
Morning News,