Crate & Barrel CEO Says Tariffs Won't Send Production to U.S.

(Bloomberg) -- As the U.S.-China trade war intensifies, home goods and furniture retailer Crate & Barrel doesn’t foresee changes in sourcing for its merchandise -- at least for now. If shifting production to another country becomes necessary, however, it’s unlikely to go to the U.S.

“Other than upholstery, where we have a great manufacturing base in the U.S., some of those products would be very difficult to manufacture domestically,” Chief Executive Officer Neela Montgomery said in an interview with Emma Chandra on Bloomberg TV. “So in reality it’ll move to another Asian market or to Europe.”

Montgomery also underscored how complex it is for companies to change countries when sourcing goods.

“International sourcing is difficult,” she said. “The reality is, it’s difficult to ensure that you’re doing it ethically, that you’re doing it sustainably, that you’re working with factories where you have real partnership. And really, any kind of disruption and shift in that, creates a huge amount of work that needs to go into creating those relationships and vetting those factories and developing those products together.”

Crate & Barrel doesn’t see the current status of the tariffs impacting prices, Montgomery said, citing the company’s diversified supply chain from 42 countries.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan Roeder in Chicago at jroeder@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anne Riley Moffat at ariley17@bloomberg.net, Lisa Wolfson

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