Multi-shoring your supply chain with Modern Retail’s Melissa Daniels — plus Drunk Elephant’s sales slump and Touchland’s big acquisition
Despite a new, 90-day pause on President Trump’s sky-high tariffs on goods imported from China, near-shoring and multi-shoring are leading topics on the minds of business insiders now.
But the idea of near-shoring, or moving a supply chain closer to the brand’s home country, as well as multi-shoring, or diversifying your supply chain to additional regions, comes with many pros and cons.
On today’s episode of the Glossy Beauty Podcast, host Lexy Lebsack is joined by Melissa Daniels, senior reporter at Glossy’s sister publication Modern Retail and co-host of the Modern Retail Podcast, to unpack the nuances in supply chain pivots today (23:24).
“I'm hearing a lot of brands talk about this supply chain risk assessment that they're trying to make now,” Daniels said. “Even if it's not tariffs [prompting this], it might be something else: There was Covid that messed up supply chains, [and] certain weather events can have a huge impact on shipping and delivery, so if you are a company that has the resources to re-shore, you are looking into that much more seriously than you were a year ago.”
The two hosts share their latest reporting, including insights from brands actively looking to move their supply chains to places like Mexico, foreign manufacturers looking for U.S.-based brands to work with and the companies connecting them.
“If you're insulated by having products in multiple places, that prevents that really scary situation where you have no inventory [because of an unexpected global event],” Daniels said.
As previously reported by Glossy, many experts believe that “every purchase order is up for grabs” right now as brands rethink their suppliers. However, a future-proofed supply chain can take decades to build, so it’s important to think through changes.
“This is such a relational business,” Daniels said. “Brands have a really close relationship with their suppliers and their manufacturers; they've worked together for a very long time, in some cases, and there's trust there.” What’s more, there is a question over whether or not big supply chain shifts can be investigated fast enough, let alone implemented, to avoid tariffs this year. Ahead, Lebsack and Daniels discuss expected timelines, which can range from weeks to years, as well as the unexpected environmental and marketing benefits of near-shoring.
But first, Lebsack is joined by co-host Sara Spruch-Feiner to unpack this week’s industry news.
This includes one of the biggest brand exits of the year: Announced Monday, consumer goods company Church & Dwight is set to acquire hand sanitizer company Touchland for $700 million in cash and stock, plus a potential 2025 earnout of over $100 million.
The team also dives into a new study out of the U.K. from watchdog group Advertising Standards Authority that found around a third of influencers fail to disclose their ties to brands.
And finally, a look at Drunk Elephant’s sales tumble. Japanese beauty conglomerate Shiseido, which owns brands like Nars and Drunk Elephant, reported an 8.5% decline in sales on Monday. This is partially due to a 65% year-over-year drop in Drunk Elephant sales, the once golden child of the beauty industry.
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