How Stew Leonard’s Is Handling Tariff Pressure
As the country comes to grips with President Donald Trump’s back and forth on tariffs, food retailers especially are dealing with questions and uncertainties. Stew Leonard Jr., president and CEO of Connecticut-based independent grocer Stew Leonard’s, spoke with NPR’s Michel Martin about how his company is dealing with the potential taxes on foreign goods.
According to Leonard, the food retailer is currently focusing on mitigating issues with products like wine and spirits such as tequila, as well as avocados from Mexico and lamb from New Zealand. Leonard said he is sometimes on the phone twice a day with small farmers and ranchers feeling financial pressure from the tariffs.
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It does remain important for Stew Leonard’s not to raise prices despite that financial pressure. During the pandemic, for example, Leonard said the grocer often split costs with producers and suppliers so it didn’t have to increase prices for shoppers.
“The good news is that just about all our suppliers are doing a wait and see right now,” Leonard said. “In the food business, we’re like a bullseye as far as inflation and so forth. But right now you need volume in the food business. We don’t want to see sales go down. If we raise prices, sales go down, unless you’re Gucci or Prada.”
Last week, several food industry associations expressed trepidation over the minimum 10% tariffs on more than 100 trading partners, along with additional country-specific rates, which were announced on April 2.
“While we have witnessed several positive steps that have reduced unnecessary regulatory burdens on our industry, we are concerned that today’s tariff announcement could bring rising prices, a squeeze on household budgets and reduced competitiveness for American companies relative to international competitors,” said Leslie G. Sarasin, president and CEO of Arlington, Va.-based FMI – The Food Industry Association. “The uncertainty and inflationary pressures created by reciprocal tariffs are a major worry for American consumers and our food industry member companies that operate on slim 1.6% retail and 7.5% food manufacturing net margins.”
Earlier this week, President Trump paused country-specific tariffs that had been enacted less than 24 hours prior. Tariffs on Chinese imports, however, remain at nearly 145%, while the blanket 10% tax on almost all U.S. imports remains in effect.
Stew Leonard’s is a family-owned and -operated fresh food store with locations in Norwalk, Danbury and Newington, Conn.; Clifton and Paramus, N.J.; and East Meadow, Farmingdale and Yonkers, N.Y.
