Transparency is one of our core values. And we especially make it a point to be open about what we are going through with you, our community. The potential upcoming tariffs are in the forefront of many people’s minds lately, ours included, so we want to share how we’ll be responding to them.
The Current Conversation in our Community
Over the past couple of weeks, as the news of tariffs has developed, more and more of you have been reaching out to ask how this may affect our kimono robe production. Firstly, we want to say thank you for your generous and kind words when you reach out to us. We are so humbled to have a community of such kind-hearted and thoughtful people, who have not just asked about the potential for price increases but also expressed support and solidarity for our small family business. Please know, we read all your messages, and they mean the world to us.
How Tariffs Will Affect KIM+ONO
As you know, we’ve been partnering with the same family of artisans in China’s Silk Village for decades. You’ve asked how that production will be affected. And to be honest, so has our production team in China! We’ve reassured them we are committed to keeping the high standard work environment we’ve managed to achieve over the years. And they’ve reassured us that the methods for this generations-long kimono production process will remain, and in fact, they even have some new ideas for how to update it and keep the tradition of artistry alive. The cost increase has us developing, in real time, the best methods to proceed despite all of these uncertainties. There are many scenarios that could happen which would increase our own costs, and just like you, we’re waiting to find out what those increases may be. We wish we had more to share in terms of exact numbers and estimates, but unfortunately, we’re all in the same boat. We just don’t know yet.
How We’re Responding to Potential Tariffs
What we do know, however, is that having a decades-long good relationship with the same family of artisans has given us a major opportunity to make the best out of this scenario. It’s those long term relationships that give us confidence we can see this through and find the best possible outcome for our community and our small business.
The most important part of our business is the people — our customers, our artisan partners, and our in-house team. We will not make any changes in production that reduce the quality of our kimono robes, and we are fully committed to upholding our work environment standards that prioritize the health and safety of our artisan workers, as well as continuing to pay fair wages to all.
That said, this may force us to increase prices at some point. Historically, we have absorbed a much higher percentage of the operating and production costs than other similar retailers, resulting in slimmer margins on our end. Even though this isn’t typical in our industry, we’ve always felt it was vital in order to make our luxury kimono robes as accessible as possible. We have only increased prices when absolutely necessary, and only after first absorbing as much of the costs as we could. We will move ahead with the same consideration for our next price change as we know more about how the tariffs will be applied.
Photo by Augie Chang
What’s to Come
We don’t have the answers just yet, but please know as soon as we have a better idea of how these potential tariffs will affect you, our community, we will communicate that as quickly as we can. In the meantime, be sure to stay in touch with us, grab your favorite styles at the current prices for you and your loved ones, and do not hesitate to reach out to us with any questions. We will always be happy to answer your questions as quickly and thoroughly as we can.
Above all, thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for all the kind words you’ve shared with us so far and your patience as we navigate this unknown moment in time together as a community.
We appreciate you and are energized every day by the mission to bring a little extra luxury to your every day. That we know for sure.
