This story is part of Modern Retail’s week-long “The New Supply Chain” series, made up of daily stories on how retail executives are revamping their supply chains to succeed in 2025.
In February, Chip Malt, the co-founder and CEO of the cookware brand Made In, received some worrying news: On March 12, U.S. President Donald Trump would impose a sweeping 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports. It was a policy change that Made In was not expecting, and it had a matter of weeks to prepare, Malt told Modern Retail. “We’re scrambling to figure out how to adjust our business,” he said.
Made In manufactures about one-third of its products in the U.S. and two-thirds of its products in Europe. The speed of Trump’s tariffs has been dizzying, Malt said, and Made In expects costs to eat into the company’s profitability. To cope, Made In is enacting a hiring freeze and will most likely raise prices. It’s also bringing on tariff lawyers — a first for the company — and putting off investments in technology.
Continue reading this article on modernretail.co. Sign up for Modern Retail newsletters to get the latest on the shifting dynamics between retail’s old and new guards.