LEWISVILLE, Texas – Arteriors is adjusting its current temporary surcharges in response to tariff increases that took effect in early August, the company told customers in an email last week.
Designs produced in Europe will increase from 2% of MSRP to 3% of MSRP. Designs produced in India will increase from 2% of MSRP to 5% of MSRP. Designs produced in China remain unchanged at 5% of MSRP.
Designs imported from remaining regions of the world will increase from 2% of MSRP to 4% of MSRP.
Arteriors raised its wholesale prices an average of 3% on May 5, which were part of a normal cyclical increase. A week later it levied temporary tariff surcharges on items sourced from China and other countries.
The May increases were part of normal cyclical increase, but the company has opted to levy surcharges separately for a few reasons, CEO John Hart told Home Accents Today.
“We thought long and hard about it, and had lots of conversations,” he said. “With the uncertainty in the landscape, we did not want to keep going to base prices and moving them up and down. We also did it for transparency, indicating a separate charge rather than baking it in. It’s more transparent that way, and customer feedback was overwhelmingly positive. There was very little pushback. It’s the environment we are dealing with.”
He said the possibility of further tariffs on furniture in the fall underscore the need to keep surcharges separate. Last week, President Trump announced a tariff investigation into imported furniture which could lead to new duties at a yet-undetermined rate.
Base prices take several different things into consideration, including costs such as shipping. Pragmatically speaking, delineating separate surcharges makes it easier to deal with, Hart added.
“At the end of the day, I full anticipate we will lose the surcharges and just have cost of goods in the new year,” he said.
