Steve Madden to cut goods imported from China by up to 45% as it prepares for Trump’s tariff pledge

NEW YORK (AP) — Shoe brand Steve Madden will be cutting the goods that it imports from China by as much as 45% next year as it prepares for President-elect Donald Trump’s pledge to slap steep and sweeping tariffs on imports from other countries.

The company, known for its trendy footwear for teens, announced the moves during its earnings call Thursday, and said it had already been developing a factory network in Cambodia, Vietnam, Mexico and Brazil for several years. Analysts have predicted that other companies will be feeling more pressure to move more goods out of China and will be following suit.

During his first term, Trump imposed tariffs that targeted imported solar panels, steel, aluminum and pretty much everything from China. But this time, he has gone much further and has proposed a 60% tariff on goods from China — and a tariff of up to 20% on everything else the United States imports.

“We have been planning for a potential scenario in which we would have to move goods out of China more quickly,” Steve Madden’s CEO Edward Rosenfeld told analysts during an earnings call Thursday. “And so, as of yesterday morning, we are putting that plan into motion.”

Rosenfeld noted that U.S imports account for about two-thirds of its overall business. Of that percentage, a little more than 70% of those goods are from China. The company’s goal is to have just roughly one-quarter of its business be subject to potential tariffs on Chinese goods, he said. The New York-based company generated sales of roughly $2 billion in calendar year 2023.

The National Retail Federation, the nation’s largest retail trade group, has been critical of Trump’s proposal and said last week that proposed tariffs on six product categories alone — clothing, toys, furniture, household appliances, footwear and travel goods — would reduce American consumers’ spending power by $46 billion to $78 billion every year the tariffs are in place, according to a study commissioned by the group and prepared by Trade Partnership Worldwide LLC, an economic research firm.

For example, an $80 pair of men’s jeans would cost $90 to $96, while a $100 coat would cost $112 to $121, the study said.

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO
AP Retail Writer