The Atlantic’s Derek Thompson recently captured our industry’s predicament perfectly: “In the past four months, President Trump has announced tariffs on Canada, paused tariffs on Canada, restarted tariffs on Canada, ruled out tariffs on certain Canadian goods, and then ruled in, and even raised tariffs, on Canadian steel and aluminum.”
If that sounds confusing, it gets worse. Thompson noted that broader tariffs were announced on nearly every country, then half were suspended. New elevated tariffs hit China, only to be changed days later. Courts ruled the April 2 tariffs unconstitutional, then a federal circuit court reversed that decision. As Thompson puts it: “Now a higher court has the opportunity to do the funniest thing: undo the undoing of the undoing of the tariffs, which have been in a permanent state of being undone ever since they were created.”
Got all that? Neither do showroom owners and managers across the country.
Showrooms are flying blind. The tariff chaos isn’t just about higher costs – it’s about the impossibility of running a business when the rules change almost daily.
Andrew Moss from Advance Plumbing & Heating Supply Company in Walled Lake, MI, summarizes the challenge: “We’ve had more price increases in the first four months of 2025 than in all of 2024. We’re dedicating resources that should go to growing our business just to ensure our quotes are accurate.”
That’s the real cost of this chaos – not just the tariff dollars, but the opportunity cost of having your best people chase pricing instead of customers. When your showroom personnel spend multiple hours a day updating pricing spreadsheets instead of training sales staff or developing new business, showrooms are losing more than margin points.
The ripple effects extend beyond internal operations. Design professionals who used to receive quotes good for 30 days now get 24-hour windows – if they’re lucky. Some showrooms have stopped guaranteeing pricing entirely, requiring designers to get client approval before finalizing any numbers. This shift fundamentally changes how the design process works, forcing faster decisions, which can be beneficial for showrooms and the supply chain.
There’s Little ‘Made in America’
It may be easy for clients to ask showrooms to avoid tariffs by sourcing products from domestic manufacturers, but that’s not a realistic option. Walk through any showroom and count how many products have every component manufactured in the United States.
Our industry runs on a global supply chain, with fixtures, faucets, components and hardware sourced from China, Asia, Europe, Mexico, Canada and countries across the globe. When tariffs hit these imports, they don’t just raise prices – they make it nearly impossible for showrooms to operate efficiently.
“The tariff chaos isn’t just about higher costs – it’s about the impossibility of running a business when the rules change almost daily.”
Consider the complexity: A single high-end faucet might have components from four different countries. The raw brass from China, cartridge from Germany, handles from Italy and finish and final assembly in the U.S. When tariffs shift on any of these countries, the math changes. Multiply this across thousands of SKUs, and you understand why pricing departments are working overtime.
Cory Wilcox, owner of DSKB Plumbing & Tile in Denver, understands the challenges: “I’m getting price increases and decreases almost daily. Sometimes increases are immediate, sometimes they take effect in two or three months. Every order requires double-checking quotes before they go out the door.”
The inconsistency is another challenge. Some manufacturers communicate tariff increases immediately, others offer a range of dates when an increase takes effect, and still others send cryptic messages about “probable” tariffs with separate invoicing to follow. There’s no industry standard, no consistent approach – just a cacophony of pricing that showrooms must somehow translate into coherent customer communications.
Take Care of Your Team
Debbie Miller, president of Millers Elegant Hardware in Boca Raton, FL, highlights an underreported consequence: “Our customers have different opinions on what costs the showroom should absorb. It’s become less of a financial issue and more of a political one.”
Miller discovered that while customers understand and are accepting of higher prices, they resist anything labeled “tariffs.” The solution? She personally handles pushback conversations to protect her sales team’s customer relationships from political fallout.
This is where tariff policy meets showroom reality. Your sales professionals shouldn’t have to navigate political debates – they should be focusing on what they do best, establishing trusting relationships and providing solutions that make their customers’ lives better. But the current environment forces uncomfortable conversations that can strain relationships.
Silver Linings
Despite the chaos, some opportunities have emerged. Advance Plumbing & Heating Supply Company discovered that tariff discussions open doors to upselling. When clients understand that mid-range Asian imports can now cost nearly as much or more than European alternatives, upgrade conversations become easier. It’s not about selling a more expensive product – it’s about showing customers better value at similar price points – a message that is resonating with Advance’s customer base.
The pricing volatility has also accelerated sales cycles. Olde World Cabinetry, Plumbing & Hardware in Pinellas Park, FL protects its customers and the showroom through transparency and creating realistic expectations. It tells customers that pricing cannot be guaranteed based on the current situation for the normal length of time. As a result, decisions happen faster. The old standard of 30 to 60-day pricing guarantees has shrunk to 24 to 48 hours – or disappeared entirely.
Margin protection is another key showroom concern. Few showrooms can afford to absorb tariff costs even if those costs are unknown at the time of sale. Earth Elements’ three showrooms in Utah, Montana and Wyoming require clients to agree that they will be invoiced separately for additional charges that may not have been known or included in the original quote. This requirement is displayed with a bold box surrounding the copy at the bottom of all estimates, which helps to promote transparency and eliminate surprises.
After talking with showroom owners nationwide, five successful tariff practices have emerged:
- Weekly manufacturer communication is a must. Don’t wait for price announcements – chase them. Designate someone to contact your top manufacturers weekly for pricing updates. The showrooms handling this crisis best have established regular communication rhythms with their key suppliers, ensuring they’re among the first to know changes.
- Transparency beats politics every time. Customers can handle bad news better than surprises. Be completely transparent, but choose your words carefully. “Supply chain adjustments” often resonate better than “tariff surcharges.” Consider creating a simple one-page explanation of current market conditions that your sales team can reference. This removes the burden of explanation from individual salespeople’s perspectives while ensuring consistent messaging.
- Protect your sales team’s relationships. Designate one or two people to deliver pricing bad news. Don’t make your best relationship-builders into the bearers of unwelcome surprises. This strategy requires discipline; it’s tempting to let salespeople handle their own accounts, but long-term relationship benefits are worth the extra coordination.
- Inventory strategically, not emotionally. Several showrooms invested in excess inventory before tariffs hit. This works if you have the cash and storage, but don’t bet the farm on predicting which products will spike next. Focus on your fastest-moving items and those with the most predictable demand patterns.
- Adjust discount structures systematically. Some showrooms are reducing discounts rather than raising base prices. Others are adding specific tariff multipliers. Both work, but pick one approach and communicate it clearly. The worst scenario is inconsistent pricing that confuses customers and demoralizes sales staff. Whatever system you select, make sure everyone understands it and applies it uniformly.
While the current tariff environment presents significant challenges, it also creates opportunities. The companies that emerge strongest will be those that use the disruption as a catalyst for operational improvements and strategic repositioning. Corey Wilcox has used this time to establish better communication with all of DSKB manufacturers, ensuring that emails are being sent to the right individuals in his showroom and to his manufacturers.
Nobody knows when tariff volatility will end, but the showrooms that emerge strongest won’t be the ones that predict policy changes. They’ll be the ones that used this disruption to build more resilient, responsive businesses.
Tariffs are estimated to add $10,900 to the cost of a typical home. For showrooms, the real cost isn’t just in dollars – it’s in the time, energy and focus diverted from serving customers, improving operations and growing businesses.
Consider what this means for your showroom. While everyone struggles with pricing volatility, the showrooms that maintain professional composure, clear communication and reliable service will gain market share. Customers remember who handled the volatility well and who didn’t.
The tariff storm will eventually pass. The question is whether your showroom will be stronger or weaker when it does. The answer depends on how well you adapt your operations to handle uncertainty.
Tom Cohn serves as the exec. v.p. of the Decorative Plumbing & Hardware Association, North America’s largest trade association advancing the interest of decorative plumbing and hardware showrooms, manufacturers and representative agencies. Named a 2020 KBDN Innovator, Cohn also is president of Cohn Communications, a multidisciplinary marketing and association management firm headquartered in Washington, DC.