Store Owner Toolkit: Preparing for Tariff Disruption in Hardware Retail

Independent hardware retailers across the country are facing a growing wave of questions about how tariffs, global sourcing challenges, and market volatility might affect product pricing and inventory planning in the months ahead. With uncertainty surrounding how new or expanded tariffs could ripple through supply chains and reach store shelves, many store owners have asked for clear, practical guidance on preparing for tariff disruption in hardware retail.

In response to this need, Orgill recently shared insights from three of its top executives, each offering advice specific to their areas of expertise:

• John Dillon, senior vice president of pricing
• Clay Jackson, executive vice president and COO
• David Mobley, executive vice president of sales

These leaders addressed a wide range of questions, including how retailers can manage price changes more efficiently, where sourcing shifts are occurring, what internal systems may need to adapt, and how strong distributor partnerships can offer protection against uncertainty.

This toolkit distills their advice into actionable, store-level strategies. Whether you’re currently seeing price fluctuations in your market or simply want to get ahead of what may be coming, the following checklists, templates and quick-reference tips are designed to help you make informed, confident decisions in a changing environment.

All content and quotes are drawn directly from Orgill’s executive statements, shared to support independent retailers as they navigate today’s unpredictable economic conditions.

Checklist: Are You Ready for Rapid Price Changes?

☑ Do you have more than one team member trained to process price updates? Mobley: “If you are used to having one employee process price changes and that system is built around a regular volume of changes, this might not be adequate if that volume increases.”

☑ Do you use digital pricing tools or systems that allow for quick tag changes? Mobley: “The days of slowly updating tags around the store are over. You’ve got to respond fast and accurately to protect margins.”

☑ Do you monitor product-specific cost changes weekly or more frequently? Mobley: “Retailers need to have a robust process for both staying on top of how the market is shifting and then handling price changes in a timely and effective way.”

☑ Are you in regular communication with distributor sales reps about possible product substitutions? Mobley: “These are all resources for you and they offer you another set of eyes and ears that may be one step closer to recognizing and identifying market shifts.”

☑ Do you have a plan to validate large cost increases before accepting them? Dillon: “We vet the increases and do our research to ensure we’re not putting our customers at a competitive disadvantage.”

Independent Hardware Retailers’ Plan for High-Volume Price Changes

As tariff-related volatility increases the frequency of cost adjustments, retailers need a scalable and proactive approach to manage pricing. This four-step plan outlines how to stay organized, informed, and responsive when price shifts start coming fast:

1. Assign a Secondary Price Manager
   Ensure at least two employees are trained to process pricing updates during high-change periods.
   Mobley: “If that volume increases… this might not be adequate.”
2. Set Weekly Checkpoints
   Designate a day to review distributor price change notifications and updates with leadership.
   Mobley: Emphasizes the need for timely responsiveness to market changes.
3. Use Available Tools
   For Orgill customers: activate and monitor PREP reporting (pricing alerts, order histories, etc.)
   Mobley: “It provides retailers with key information like price change alerts, promotional pricing alerts, discount alerts, order histories and more.”
4. Create Communication Loops
   Develop an internal notification plan to keep floor staff informed of price changes on high-turn items.

Quick Tips: Tariff-Smart Retail Habits

Even with uncertainty on the horizon, retailers can take practical steps to stay grounded. These quick-hit habits help maintain control, protect margins, and strengthen relationships during unpredictable market shifts.

• Don’t panic buy. Mobley: “What if you stock up right now and then the tariffs don’t materialize?”
• Build vendor transparency. Jackson: “When vendors bring cost increases, we ask them to walk our category management team through the specific SKUs, materials, and country-of-origin details.”
• Leverage substitution flexibility. Jackson: “With 80,000 SKUs, we offer plenty of opportunities for item substitution and transferability.”
• Watch the bottlenecks. Jackson: “What we might end up seeing is more about bottlenecks in the supply chain as opposed to raw shortages.”
• Focus on customer service. Jackson: “Retailers can win by offering excellent customer service and personalization.”