A southeast Manitoba business that once relied heavily on U.S. customers is shifting its focus to Canada as tariffs make it increasingly difficult to compete south of the border.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Daniel Fehr, owner of Daniel\u2019s Plants, started the business about 10 years ago, initially selling biodegradable pots through an online store and Amazon.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The business later expanded into plant shelves and other products designed to display plants and make use of window space.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fehr says the company has made an effort to use Canadian materials, sourcing its lumber from a nearby mill.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s all Canadian-grown, Canadian-milled lumber and wood,\u201d says Fehr.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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However, about 80 per cent of the business\u2019s sales have traditionally gone to U.S. customers because of the size of the American market.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now, tariffs are forcing the company to reconsider that approach.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\u201cIf your costs are 50 per cent more than the next guy, it\u2019s pretty hard to compete.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He says the company began preparing for the possibility of tariffs months ago as trade tensions increased.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The business started stocking more products at U.S. fulfillment centres, allowing it to continue serving American customers while navigating changing trade rules.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That preparation means Daniel’s Plants currently has several months’ worth of tariff-free inventory in the United States.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Once that inventory is sold, however, Fehr does not expect to restock those U.S. fulfillment centres unless the tariff situation changes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just can\u2019t compete if we have to pay an extra 50 per cent on our cost of goods,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Some U.S. customers have reached out to ask about the tariffs and where the products are made.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fehr says many have been understanding, with some customers even offering to pay additional costs associated with tariffs and shipping.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But he says there is only so much a business can raise its prices before customers stop buying.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The company has already increased its prices this year, but further increases could make its products too expensive for consumers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
With the U.S. market becoming increasingly difficult to serve, Daniel’s Plants is now looking at ways to build its presence in Canada.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That could include changing the company’s product lines to better suit Canadian customers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fehr says the shift is not unique to his business, noting many Canadian e-commerce sellers have historically focused on the much larger U.S. market.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He is also encouraging Canadians to consider where they spend their money.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\u201cBuy Canadian, especially from businesses that are owned by Canadians that make their products in Canada,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fehr says the impact of the trade dispute goes beyond individual businesses, affecting the people and investments behind them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s really too bad because it’s real people, it’s real businesses that are affected by this trade war.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He describes the situation as a “massive game of chicken” between Canada and the United States, with businesses left trying to plan around constantly changing circumstances.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For Fehr, that uncertainty has already affected long-term business planning.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIn a business, you always have to look forward,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have to look at what\u2019s coming down one year, two years, three years down the road.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
For now, that means looking more closely at the Canadian market and considering what opportunities may come from it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fehr says the situation has been difficult, particularly after investing significant time, effort and money into developing products for the U.S. market.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI’ve lost many nights of sleep, especially in the beginning when all the threats were starting,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n
While the uncertainty has become somewhat familiar, he says the potential loss of access to the U.S. market remains a significant blow.\u00a0<\/p>\n
With files from Carly Koop<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A southeast Manitoba business that once relied heavily on U.S. customers is shifting its focus to Canada as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":880120,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[45,49,48],"class_list":["post-880119","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-ca","tag-canada"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/880119","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=880119"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/880119\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/880120"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=880119"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=880119"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=880119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}