‘We’re Not Giving Up’
In this week’s Dashboard podcast, Ben Knepler explains why the gyration of tariffs on his folding chairs has forced him to suspend production.
Good Morning!
Here are today’s highlights:
Businesses are trying new strategies to survive Google’s introduction of AI Overviews.
In an uncertain world, five small businesses bet they will do better as a cooperative.
Consumer spending stagnated across the board in the first half of the year.
After the messy ending of “The Profit,” Marcus Lemonis returns as “The Fixer.”
THE 21 HATS PODCAST: DASHBOARD
“We’re Not Giving Up:” This week, Ben Knepler returns to the podcast to explain why he and his co-founder at True Places concluded they had no choice but to suspend production of their portable, outdoor chairs and go into survival mode. Initially, they manufactured the chairs in China, where they’ve been paying tariffs since the first Trump administration. Last year, at considerable expense, they moved production to Cambodia, which at the time was subject to no tariffs. But since April 2nd, the company has been subjected to a tariff rate that has gyrated from zero to 49 percent to 10 percent to 36 percent to 19 percent as of last week. In our conversation, Ben explains why they stopped production and what they’re thinking going forward.
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