Tariffs take a toll on small businesses in Utah

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Tariffs are affecting some small businesses nationwide, and in Utah, we’re seeing this play out from rising costs to order cancellations or a lack of customers altogether. The uncertainty is more than some local businesses can take.

At Guitar Czar, general manager Cameron Anton spent Monday afternoon tuning his guitar for one of the last times at the beloved music store. After 32 years in business, the shop is closing its doors.

After three decades, Guitar Czar is closing. Anton, general manager of the store, says they’re unable to keep up with the economy and more customers are choosing to shop online, especially since the beginning of this year.

“Tariffs didn’t help, and prices went up,” Anton said. For Anton, it’s more than a business; it’s about the experience of music.

“A lot of these instruments, they’re like art. You have to find the right paintbrush. They’re just here to make art, but you have to find that right paintbrush to make it happen,” Anton said.

This guitar shop isn’t the only local business impacted by tariffs; Alder and Tweed Furniture, a wholesale furniture business based in Salt Lake City, is too.

“Our customers have a ceiling at which they are not able to buy furniture anymore. So consumers pull back their demand, and they are not able to spend the money, which has a massive impact on our ability to survive in the wholesale environment,” President of Alder and Tweed furniture, Ryan Humphery, said.

Humphery says they have seen a 15% decrease in sales this year because of tariffs.

“We had to increase prices with the last round of tariffs, and we absorbed some of it as well. I think the administration was hoping the business would absorb the tariff increases, but it’s not possible. As your margin decreases, you have to refocus as a business and figure out to maintain margin and profitability We have absorbed some and passed along some and are looking to do another price increase soon,” Humphery said.

Jim Herrin, Director of the Salt Lake City Small Business Development Center, says many Utah businesses are in the same position.

“Some of the smaller businesses, if they’re heavily reliant on importing other products, they have to raise their prices. Otherwise, they’d go out of business or suffer quite a bit, if they’re able to stay in business- treading water for a while and hopefully stay above it,” Herrin said.

Guitar Czar will officially close on October 25. Anton plans to continue working in the music industry at another store.

As for Alder and Tweed, they haven’t laid off employees yet, but the future remains uncertain.