President Donald Trump met the heads of management of three of the country’s best retailers on Monday, who came to the White House to discuss how his pricing plans could have an impact on their importation models.
The CEO of Walmart, Doug McMillon, and the director general of Target, Brian Cornell, both participated, like the CEO of Home Depot, Ted Decker.
A White House official told CNBC earlier on Monday that a representative of Lowe’s would also be in Reunion. After the end of the meeting, an official told NBC News that no one of Lowe was present.
After the end of the meeting, the three companies published almost identical statements.
“We had a productive meeting with President Trump and his team and appreciated the opportunity to share our ideas,” said a spokesperson for Walmart.
“We had a productive meeting with President Trump and our peers at a retail to discuss the way on trade, and we remain determined to bring value to American consumers,” read the Target Declaration.
“We had an informative and constructive meeting with the president and we are impatient to continue the dialogue,” said the Home Depot statement.
The meeting, reported for the first time by Bloomberg earlier during the day, was not included in the president’s public schedule.
In a press release provided to CNBC later Monday, Trump said that the meeting “was fine”, adding: “It was an honor to have them” in the oval office.
For retailers, prices are the last threat of an already difficult economic landscape, where consumers are looking for low prices after years with high inflation.
However, the prices will weigh more on certain retailers than others. As the largest grocer in the country, Walmart is in better position than many of his competitors.
About two-thirds of what Walmart sells in the United States is manufactured, cultivated or gathered in America, said director John David Rainey earlier this month at an investor event in Dallas.
Walmart imports the last third of the world, he said, but China and Mexico are the “most important” supplier countries.
Target, on the other hand, is in a more difficult place. The retailer based in Minneapolis is best known for its discretionary goods such as cheap and chic house clothes and products, products generally made abroad.
Target annual income has been roughly stagnated in the past four years, and the company has recently projected sales growth at only 1% for the current financial year.
The main commercial group of industry, the National Retail Federation, has made alarms on the damage that prices put to American families. The group, which puts pressure for and represents retailers, has published its own estimates of how more consumers should pay for everyday items such as sneakers, toaster and mattresses.
“More prices are equal to more anxiety and uncertainty for American companies and consumers,” said the day when Trump unveiled his “reciprocal” pricing plan that he has since revised that Trump has unveiled his “reciprocal” tariff plan, which he has since paid.
“While Washington leaders may not worry about higher prices, American working families do so,” said French.
