Bob Jones, President – American Sale

Hot tubs. Swimming pools. Barbecue grills. Swing sets. For generations of families in Chicagoland, American Sale has been their go-to destination for anything needed to make life more fun in a backyard. Headquartered in Tinley Park, American Sale is a family-owned retailer with a 65-year history, and a motto of bring the fun home.

Bob helped to grow the business to its current footprints of eight locations. He has been involved with the business since he was a young boy, learning the ropes from his dad who founded the business as a toy store.

These days, Bob said there is far less joy at American Sale because he finds his business in the crosshairs of the global tariff war. With approximately 25% of all products imported, including nearly all of their Christmas merchandise and roughly half of their patio furniture, new tariff trade policies present a significant challenge, Bob explains. The company faces a difficult dilemma. American Sale can either pay substantially higher prices for goods, which would then be passed on to customers, or they risk canceling orders and not having product to sell, according to Bob.

Gordon Davis, Owner – Whimsy Tea

Every cup of freshly brewed tea tells a global story at Whimsy Tea in Springfield, Illinois, starting with the store’s concept and running through that very last sip. Opened in 2019, it is a place where Whimsy Tea founder Gordon Davis and his family create unique tea blends for their discerning customers.

“We create the teas. We conceive of what those flavor profiles are going to be, what tea blends are going to go in there, what herbs, what flowers, all of that,” said Gordon. “I think that the spirit of community and that wanting to make things better is at the core of our being.”

The shelves of Whimsy Tea are filled with hundreds of tea blends from more a hundred different countries around the globe. The tea business is predominantly reliant on international trade because the overwhelming majority of tea is exported to the United States. And so, these days, as Gordon pours his tea blends for his customers, he is facing challenges unlike any other for his business: the specter of rising tariffs.

Jin Park, Owner – Hello Tokyo

Hello Tokyo is a fun, high-quality Japanese discount store located in the northwest suburbs of Chicago in the Village of Niles. It offers shoppers a unique retail experience by stocking a wide array of products including beauty supplies, household goods, snacks, toys, figurines, and items for the lawn and garden, all with a distinctive Japanese flair of “kawaii,” which means “super cute” in Japanese.

“There are dollar stores over in Asia that are really flourishing,” said Hello Tokyo Owner Jin Park. “We wanted to mimic that Japanese dollar store style in the Midwest.”

The store bills itself as a Japanese dollar store with many products starting at $1.99, and although low prices are the foundation of Hello Tokyo, there is higher ticket merchandise available for purchase.

One hundred percent of the merchandise at Hello Tokyo is exported from overseas with a large amount of the inventory originating in Japan and China. Jin says that U.S. manufacturers do not produce the products at the price points his customers are seeking, and so his store is directly in the crosshairs of the global tariff battle now taking shape.

Luckeyia Murray, Owner – Luckeyia’s Balloons & Distribution

British author A.A. Milne of Winnie the Pooh fame once said, “Nobody can be uncheered with a balloon.” That quote well embodies the mindset of Luckeyia Murray, owner of Luckeyia’s Balloons & Distribution, who lives by a motto for her store: “Where our excellence reflects your elegance.”

“We generate smiles, we encourage excitement. Every balloon is made special for someone,” said Luckeyia with colorful enthusiasm.

Luckeyia’s store is located about 20 miles south of Chicago in the Cook County suburb of Homewood, where she serves a large base of customers from the South Side and northwestern Indiana. She tells us she is facing the tangible impact of higher tariffs, because of higher costs for essential supplies and materials. As a result, she has been forced to consider raising prices for her customers. Luckeyia concedes the tariff wars have made her “a little nervous about keeping her doors open,” although she stressed she remains committed to making her business work.

Julie Hines, Owner – Country Junction

Corn and soybean grow abundantly in central Illinois and generates considerable wealth for the region, which is one of the reasons you might hear people refer to this part of the state as “The Golden Square.” Right in the middle of all that action is the city of Clinton, which is the seat of DeWitt County, and the store, Country Junction, a well-known destination shopping experience on Route 54.

Country Junction is an expansive store with merchandise ranging from home decor and giftware to trendy boutique clothing and housewares.

Even the most rural of businesses in Illinois find themselves these days navigating the new global economic challenges presented by tariffs. Julie tells us she is seeing price hikes from her vendors and trying not to pass along these hikes to her customers.