Some prices to rise at Home Depot despite earlier stance, CFO says
Three months ago, Home Depot said it didn't expect prices to rise due to tariffs. Now, that seems likely to change.
(NEXSTAR) – Three months ago, Home Depot said it didn't expect to raise prices, claiming that its ability to diversify its sources would help it dodge tariffs. That's about to change, at least for some items.
CFO Richard McPhail told The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday that customers will see "some modest price movement for some categories," as tariffs on some goods are higher now than they were in May.
He noted, however, that the "price movement" won't be seen on a broad scale, and told CNBC that Home Depot's pricing approach isn't changing.
Part of this is because most of the products found at Home Depot are nationally sourced. By next year, no foreign country will represent more than 10 percent of Home Depot's purchases, McPhail said in May.
He did not elaborate this week on which categories could be most impacted by tariffs.
Since spring, several retailers have said they would have to raise some prices due to tariffs, including Walmart. That prompted pushback from President Donald Trump, who told Walmart to "eat the tariffs."
There have been concerns that grocery prices, especially in a few select categories, could see prices rise under the latest tariffs. Some, however, are now hoping they could recoup some of the costs with proposed tariff rebate checks.
Amid overall cost concerns, Home Depot reported Tuesday that its customers were shopping for smaller projects and gardening over the last few months. It's a trend all home improvement retailers have been dealing with.
“As the largest improvement player, Home Depot is getting the lion’s share of this growth and remains the number one destination for consumers due to strong customer service, a comprehensive range, and sharp pricing,” Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, said. “The latter factor will serve it well as consumers become more price conscious.”
Still, the home improvement retailer's sales improved, climbing to $45.28 billion from $43.18 billion.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
What's Your Reaction?
