Weddingstar CEO says international tariffs are also impacting Canadian companies

“We’re just kind of caught in this tariff war that nobody wants to be part of,” he added.

“What makes it difficult, I think, for our company and most companies across Canada is we’ve been in business for over 40 years and we’ve kind of structured our company around the U.S. market.”

Brink said that things have changed so quickly, with so much uncertainty on where it will end up, it makes it difficult for companies to react when they don’t know what’s going to happen.

“I think it’s such a big market, and Canada does need the U.S. market. Hopefully they can come up with something reasonable that companies can start to work around,” Brink said.

“But right now with the uncertainty of where it could even end up, it’s really tough to make any kind of a business decision on what direction to go and what to do,” he added.

“We’re trying to get more sales out of the Canadian market. It is a tough market right now because there’s so much uncertainty and I think people are holding back.”

Brink said the companies he talks to from the U.S. say their sales are down with uncertainty in the U.S. market.

“Companies in the States are not even sure what direction to go or where things are gonna end up.”

Brink said the year had started strong for Weddingstar.

“Then once Trump got elected, and with all these tariffs, it’s just been a whirlwind of not knowing what direction to go, increased costs,” Brink said.

Brink said a lot of the products they ship down to the U.S. have risen by 30 per cent.

“Tried to offset some of the duties that we’re having to pay and I think that something has to happen soon,” Brink said.

“It’s probably not gonna be as good as everybody wants it to be, but we’re just gonna have to get whatever’s given to us and then try to figure out, can we make it work?”

The company is looking for ways to generate revenue and reduce taxes on items, more things that can be developed and sold, to eliminate an instance of duty being applied.

At the end of August, Brink said the duty would impact them further.

“Some of our suppliers in India, Taiwan, and things like that, those products will also now start to see the increased 30 per cent duty tariff applied to it,” Brink said.

“I talked to US companies, and they’re in the same spot, like they’re having to pay 30 per cent more duty on the products that they bring into the States,” Brink said.

“Cost increases are coming to them, and they’re uncertain where they’re gonna end up with their pricing, and it’s just turmoil everywhere,” he added.

Brink said you won’t notice an increase in prices at a few companies yet, but he expects to see that happen when they get through their current inventory.

“Once that inventory goes through and they start to get into the new inventory that they have to bring in, prices are gonna start to come up,” Brink said.

“I think this fall is when they’re gonna start to see more issues with inventory prices going up and stuff like that, and a little bit of it now, but I think more is coming.”

by Jesse Gill

Weddingstar CEO says international tariffs are also impacting Canadian companies

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