Walmart Execs: Some Merch to Cost More

Walmart (Bentonville, Ark.) CFO John David Rainey says the discount retailer will have to raise the prices on many items because of tariffs. That’s despite a recently announced 90-day reprieve that lowered duties on Chinese imports from 145% to 30%, while goods from many other countries also face 10% duties.

“We’re trying to navigate this the best that we can,” Rainey said in an interview on CNBC that came after the world’s largest retailer released its first quarter earnings on May 15. “But this is a little bit unprecedented in terms of the speed and magnitude in which the price increases are coming.”

He said while the company is committed to keeping prices low relative to competitors and will absorb some of the higher tariff costs, shoppers will likely see increases toward the end of May and more in June.

The retailer’s top executive offered some hints about which specific items and departments would be most affected by tariffs. In the company’s earnings call with investors, CEO Doug McMillon said about a third of what Walmart sells in the U.S. is made, grown or assembled in the country, but it relies on goods brought in from dozens of other nations, especially China, Mexico, Vietnam, India and Canada.

He said tariffs on countries like Costa Rica, Peru and Columbia have put pressure on the price of imported items, including bananas, avocados, coffee and roses. He added that a high volume of merchandise in some categories like toys and electronics comes from China.

For all the tariff-related headwinds Walmart faces, the company stuck by its full-year forecast in its latest earnings report, CNBC noted, despite just missing Wall Street’s revenue expectations for the quarter.