President Donald Trump doubled down on his tariff policy over the weekend, demanding in a social media post that businesses like Walmart “eat the tariffs” and not pass along costs to consumers, as the company said it would. But how are smaller stores weathering the storm?
May is National Small Business Month, so we thought we'd check in with some of our local entrepreneurs to see how they’re navigating the economy.
One small business isn't backing down from letting its customers know how tariffs are affecting pricing.
Adam Kurtz and Mitchell Kuga recently opened Small Kine Gift in Kaimukī on Oʻahu. One of their recent Instagram story posts about tariffs sparked some online feedback.
"A lot of people maybe aren't aware of how that might be impacting them personally, and I wanted to be really transparent," Kurtz told HPR.
Kurtz said that one of the shop's most popular items is a fake food keychain from Japan. The shop is constantly reordering stock, and UPS wouldn't release the most recent package until the shop paid a $350 bill.
"That was the first taste of this sort of tariff thing. This was a tariff bill, and unlike some shipments, where duties are paid in advance, you have an awareness of what the import fee might be — this was a surprise," he said.
Kurtz said that the shop has not had any additional surprise invoices but has been dealing with rising costs. A majority of their products come from China.
"No one's going to stop going to China. It's just the margins are going to shrink, and that's kind of what we're bracing for. We're not going to stop using some of our vendors. It's just going to cost us more, and we have to make a judgment call. Do we pass that increased cost onto our customer or not?" he said.
He emphasized that even though 50% of the shop's items are priced under $10, he doesn't want to raise prices and put that expense on customers.
"I don't think our customers care, but we really care — that matters to me. This is an expensive place to live. We really wanted to make a place that was very fun and very cool and very affordable. That is the goal, and it's harder," he said.
Kurtz said they make their own li hing lemon peel gummies, but the printed bags come from China.
"Even if you are made locally, made in Hawaiʻi, components are still coming from China. That's kind of the reality for I think a vast majority of businesses and manufacturing in this country, because we live in a global world, and I think the current administration understands this innately. I think that the tariff thing is really very much about having bargaining chips and holding power," he said.
This interview aired on The Conversation on May 19, 2025. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. Tori DeJournett adapted this story for the web.
