Brands Briefing: Startups grapple with whether to move up sales or postpone them amid tariff uncertainty

One of the most pressing dilemmas brands face right now is what to do about pre-planned sales events — especially with big holidays like Mother’s Day and Memorial Day coming up. Some brands, like Knix, are striking while the iron is hot, choosing to move sales up to meet the moment. It could be a chance to pull forward demand before customers become even more price sensitive. Some are just generally advising customers to buy now before prices potentially go up. Beauty tech brand Foreo is still running its “shop before prices rise” sale, originally set to run through April 22. Other companies are promoting specific SKUs to help move products and improve cash flow while they determine whether to raise prices or absorb them.  

But for other brands, especially those that source out of China, sales can be a distraction as they try to figure out how their companies can survive 145% tariffs on Chinese imports. Michael Wieder, co-founder and president of baby brand Lalo, told the Wall Street Journal that his company decided to cancel its Memorial Day sale this year. Kim Vaccarella, CEO of Bogg Bag, told Reuters that she is skipping Amazon’s Prime Day this year in order to retain more inventory that she can sell at a higher price.

Griffiths said the decision to push up the anniversary sale was to give customers a chance to affordably stock up on products with up to 40% off on its leakproof items. “It’s not a charity, but more so us being honest and saying, ‘If you want these prices, then it’s a really good time to buy,’” she said.

While there is a risk of backlash against brands for capitalizing on tariff-related marketing tactics, Griffiths said Knix’s customers appreciated the early sale window. “Our motto right now is to control our controllables, and the timing of the sale is something that’s very much within our control,” she said. “But if you don’t have a history of talking openly about things as a brand, it probably won’t work.”

Griffiths added that the Canada-based brand is still unsure whether it will increase prices, as it awaits final tariff policies. Knix manufactures in Asia, including Sri Lanka and Vietnam, but about 80% of its products are made in China. “So it’s a big potential blow for us depending on where things shake out,” she said. Currently, about 50% of Knix’s sales come from the U.S. market.

The strategy is working. Griffiths confirmed that Knix is now on track to sell 300,000 pairs of its leakproof underwear during the annual sale. While the company isn’t using tariff-related language in its ads, Griffiths said, the company tried to give context about why it moved up its anniversary sale in social media and email posts. The announcement said, “Candidly, this sale was supposed to be in May,” but Knix wanted to give customers a chance to lock in prices before potentially changing them, Griffiths said, adding, “We sent an email about it, and that got a great response.”

Brands that run sales now also face a tough decision about forthcoming sales periods, like Mother’s Day and Memorial Day. Luxury mattress brand Saatva is one company running a “beat the tariffs” sale before increasing prices. But for now, Saatva still plans to layer in seasonal promotions such as its annual Memorial Day sale, according to the company’s director of public relations, Shari Ajayi.

Ajayi said the brand will have a “buy more, save more” Memorial Day sale this year, as it has in previous years. “We may include tariff language in our communications, but we do not anticipate any price increases before the holiday,” Ajayi said. To differentiate it from the “beat the tariffs” sale, Saatva will be running a tiered promotion that starts in mid-May, giving customers the opportunity to shop early, ahead of the holiday weekend. During the Memorial Day sale, Ajayi said, customers can save up to $500 on a curated collection of made-to-order mattresses, designer bed frames and eco-conscious bedding.

Other brands are trying to more subtly encourage people to buy ahead of popular gifting periods. Luxury towel brand Weezie, which largely imports from Europe, said in a recent Instagram post to customers that “tariff changes will impact our costs and, eventually, our prices.” The brand said it didn’t know when that would happen and by how much — it simply told customers that now was a good time to buy if they had their eye on something, especially if they are thinking ahead for Mother’s Day.

While there are many different ways brands can approach sales right now, one thing is certain: E-commerce customers are on the hunt for deals.

According to a weekly tariffs tracker by Klaviyo, which surveyed 500 U.S.-based consumers during the week of April 21, 26% of respondents say they’re waiting to see if prices actually increase before shopping. Another 34% say they plan to wait and potentially switch to cheaper alternatives, a 7% increase over the previous week.

Brands are acting swiftly. Per the same survey, 80% of shoppers said they’ve seen brands take action over the past week, whether they’re raising prices, launching promotions, or communicating clearly about the current market conditions.

Jake Cohen, Klaviyo’s head of industry insights, said these figures show that consumers’ behavior is quickly settling into a new, more calculated normal.

“Shoppers aren’t panicking, but they are weighing their options, watching for deals and paying attention to how brands are responding to price pressure,” Cohen said in a statement. This presents brands with an opportunity to be proactive in how they position themselves and retain loyalty and healthy margins, he said.

As brands strategize about handling tariff-related cost increases, they are using this moment to offer loyal customers a chance to shop deals, which, in turn, is generating much-needed revenue. 

Griffiths said Knix’s early sale has proven to be a success and helped Knix hit its goals of selling through products. “For an inventory-focused, cash flow-based business, that certainty is helpful,” she said. It also allows Griffiths to focus more on other urgent priorities in the coming weeks and months, like future-proofing and diversifying Knix’s supply chain. This will include setting up new manufacturing in more countries and accelerating plans to open a U.S. fulfillment center after years of shipping orders out of Canada.  –Gabriela Barkho

3 questions with Fresh Press Farms

Even for companies that make most of their products domestically, uncertainty around tariff policy and disruption in supply chains is causing increases in costs. Fresh Press Farms, a vertically integrated olive mill based out of South Georgia, grows, harvests and presses its olive oil in the United States. It sells in over 5,000 stores and supermarkets, most recently joining more than 1,200 Albertsons locations. But tariffs are still fumbling the supply chain for the company. As Fresh Press Farms CEO Frederic Lebourg told Modern Retail, “I can grow olives, I can grow sunflower seeds, and I can grow peanuts, but I cannot grow packaging.”

What kind of consequences are tariffs having on your supply chain as a U.S.-made company?
“Nearly 18 months ago, way even before the Trump administration came to power, we actually reshored aluminum bottles from China back to the U.S.A. And now our aluminum bottles are made in Ohio. So you would think that is great, except that the U.S.A. doesn’t make aluminum to make those bottles. So even though the bottles are made in the U.S.A by American workers, we are subject to the 25% tariff on aluminum. I did reshore, but I’m still taking a hit. Aluminum is taking a 25% tariff, and the impact on the cost of a bottle is about 12%, so my bottle price is going up about 12%.”

What about your glass bottles?
“At the moment, my glass is coming from China. I’m looking at multiple alternatives, and it’s quite difficult, given the constant changes and the lack of stability, to decide where that new manufacturer should be. Essentially, when I wake up in the morning, the first thing I look at is what has changed, and it’s very hard to run a business when everything is completely unstable. And that’s the reality we’re in right now.

Since we have a custom bottle, even if I find a new manufacturer in a country that has not been affected too much by tariffs, it takes time. It’s not like overnight you can have a new glass bottle manufacturer. At best, it’s a six-month process. So the current situation with tariffs on our glass coming from China is going to cost us well over $300,000 in tariffs, which we pay.”

How are you mitigating the cost increases you’re seeing?
“We have no choice but to postpone other investment projects we are doing. Those $300,000 are going to go to taxes instead of going to an investment project that was ready to go and would have generated about 20 new jobs.” –Melissa Daniels

Quote of the Week

“I’m reading the news, just like everyone else. There’s no inside track. … Everybody’s trying to figure out how to navigate this.“

Jeff Braverman, executive chairman of Nuts.com, on how retail leaders are struggling to make sense of rapidly shifting tariffs –Julia Waldow

What we’re reading

• The New York Stock Exchange has suspended trading of Solo Brands’ stock, and it is moving forward with delisting the company from the NYSE.
• Personalized beauty brand Function of Beauty has brought its core product line to more than 1,800 Walmart stores. Formerly a DTC-only brand, Function of Beauty has made a bigger bet on wholesale in recent years, after first launching in Target in December 2020.
• The New York Times published an interactive graphic over the weekend called “Your Home Without China,” highlighting what percentage of the most popular household products are made in China.

What we’ve covered

• A deep dive into Rare Beauty’s Substack strategy.
• Menswear brand Mack Weldon put a price lock on its underwear, calling on shoppers to “recession-proof your underwear drawer,” in a bid to drive more sales amid tariff uncertainty.
• How brands like Béis and Set Active are trying to take a humorous but clear approach in their emails to customers about how tariffs may impact them.