Retailers narrow product lines as import, transport and storage costs rise

  • Under Armour and Helen of Troy are reducing product assortments as operating costs rise.
  • Under Armour cut its product count by more than 25% over two years.
  • About one in four U.S. companies plan to reduce offerings within six months.

Retailers and consumer-goods companies are reducing product assortments as tariffs, freight expenses, warehousing costs and unpredictable demand squeeze profitability. Under Armour cut its product count by more than 25% over the past two years and is concentrating investment on bestsellers. Helen of Troy said reducing its lineup was among its responses to higher U.S. tariffs. The trend reverses years of expanding catalogs, accelerated by e-commerce, and reflects lessons from pandemic-era supply-chain imbalances. A British Standards Institution survey found roughly one in four U.S. companies plan to reduce offerings in the next six months. Smaller businesses including Yedi Houseware and zestt organics are also scaling back or delaying launches. The broader retail industry is separately responding to tariff costs after a Supreme Court ruling triggered more than $160 billion in payments back to importers, with Walmart, E.l.f. Beauty and Burlington Stores directing refunds toward price cuts.

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Retailers narrow product lines as import, transport and storage costs rise - CoinPost Terminal