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BFD Expert Voices - Retail Deals

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Footwear retailer Brooks Running is "modeling out for whatever comes," as tariff uncertainty clouds the global trade economy, CEO Dan Sheridan tells Axios.

Why it matters: Tariffs are a huge headwind for retail, with footwear specifically seeing tariffs approaching 27% since the 1930s.

The big picture: As his dust-up with Colombia underscores, President Trump is willing to use tariffs as a tool at any time, unexpectedly, on key trade partners to gain their compliance on U.S. interests.

By the numbers: Brooks generated over $1 billion in sales during its first nine months of fiscal 2024, Sheridan says. It projects 10% year-over-year growth.

Its sneakers run about $100 to $200 per pair, on average.

Yes, but: In the advent of actual tariffs, the cost would end up being passed on to the consumer, Sheridan says.

Brooks would also need to reconsider its investments around the world and the people it employs, he says.

What's next: Brooks is seeking new places to manufacture — though it would like to produce the products where it sells them or, as the CEO coins it, "local for local."

Case in point: The running brand has worked with its manufacturing partners to shift the bulk of production out of China and into Vietnam as of 2014, for example, Sheridan says.

"As we build redundancy and resiliency, they are alongside us," he says.

Zoom out: Companies ranging from behemoths like Apple to startups such as online furniture retailer Cozey are reconfiguring their supply chains.

Apple is working with supplier Foxconn to locate manufacturing outside China in countries like India and Vietnam.

Cozey teamed with its main Chinese manufacturing partner, which also wanted to diversify, to open a factory in Thailand, its CEO Frédéric Aubé says.

What they're saying: Justin Baer, the founder of clothing startup Collar & Co., says that his company is looking at bringing manufacturing closer to home to countries that don't have tariff risk.

He says Collars has been approached with an offer to move out of Asia to another country.

The caveat: Baer says he would like to continue with Collar & Co.'s existing factories, partners he hopes can navigate potential tariffs and pick up some of the tab.

Brooks Running prepares for looming specter of tariffs

The running brand's CEO outlines plans to counter the uncertainty of tariffs.

Brooks Running Co. signage during a shareholders shopping day ahead of the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, U.S., on Friday, April 29, 2022

Brooks Running signage during a shareholders shopping day. Photo: Dan Brouillette/Bloomberg via Getty Images 

Footwear retailer Brooks Running is &quot;modeling out for whatever comes,&quot; as <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="tariff uncertainty clouds" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2025/01/27/trump-colombia-tariffs-paused" data-vars-content-id="dbc622f9-582f-45e0-a12a-3b886374e445" data-vars-headline="Brooks Running prepares for looming specter of tariffs" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2025/01/27/trump-colombia-tariffs-paused" target="_self">tariff uncertainty clouds</a> the global trade economy, CEO Dan Sheridan tells Axios.Why it matters: Tariffs are a <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="huge headwind" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/pro/retail-deals/2024/11/20/retail-cpg-tariffs-trump-china-distressed-bankruptcy-restructuring" data-vars-content-id="dbc622f9-582f-45e0-a12a-3b886374e445" data-vars-headline="Brooks Running prepares for looming specter of tariffs" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/pro/retail-deals/2024/11/20/retail-cpg-tariffs-trump-china-distressed-bankruptcy-restructuring" target="_self">huge headwind</a> for retail, with footwear specifically seeing tariffs approaching 27% since the 1930s.

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Brooks Running prepares for looming specter of tariffs

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