Teddy Time Blog
Industry News
Whitmore Lake, MI – May 7th, 2025
TBF Community,
The past two weeks have been a whirlwind following the announcement of our May 2nd pricing adjustments in response to the ongoing tariff challenges. First and foremost, we want to express our sincere gratitude for the many thoughtful questions, honest conversations, and continued support we have received. The dialogue has been tough and constructive, and we are incredibly grateful for the trust you have placed in us.
We know this is a difficult time, and like many of you, we are frustrated by the circumstances. Tariffs, rising costs, and supply chain uncertainty create pressures for businesses at every level. But rather than wait and react, we have chosen to lead with a proactive and transparent strategy focused on preserving product availability and minimizing long-term disruption.
While some suppliers may opt to pause and reassess later, we’ve decided to move forward with importing a limited SKU set. This allows us to maintain inventory of our best-selling items across multiple industries, ensuring you have access to the products you rely on, even if it means tighter margins, rather than risk total stock outages.
This decision is especially important for our hospitality and attractions partners, many of whom are now entering their peak summer season. Delaying further could mean missing a crucial period when these businesses depend most on our products. As we do every year, we want to ensure they—and all of you—are supported without interruption.
In parallel, we are actively expanding and diversifying our manufacturing partnerships. We are well into the vetting process and expect to have new supply channels in place by fall, which will help stabilize pricing and improve long-term flexibility.
To protect inventory availability across our entire customer base, we’ve temporarily limited large-volume pulls of individual SKUs. Ensuring more customers have access to essential products during this transitional period.
We understand these changes may be challenging, and we’re committed to supporting you through them. Thank you for your continued partnership, resilience, and trust. If you have any questions or would like to speak with us directly, we’re here and ready to help.
Whitmore Lake, MI – April 25th, 2025
Dear TBF Community,
As global trade dynamics continue to shift rapidly, We are taking proactive steps to navigate an increasingly challenging economic environment. Effective Friday, May 2, 2025, we will implement a temporary 50% wholesale price increase on all Plush, Clothing, and Accessories manufactured in China.
This decision follows a steep escalation in tariffs on China-made exports, which have surged from 20% in February to 145% as of today. The Bear Factory, like many businesses across industries, is working to adapt to these unprecedented changes while maintaining transparency and stability for our partners.
Our focus this April has been divided by the geopolitical landscape and rising reciprocal tariffs that demand constant attention. We addressed many of the key questions around these developments in our latest Pawsitive Impact podcast episode, which we encourage our community to listen to for important context.
We emphasize that this price adjustment is temporary and will remain in effect through the month of May, pending any significant updates to trade agreements or tariff regulations. Should changes occur, we are prepared to respond quickly and adjust pricing as needed.
This is not a decision we take lightly. We recognize the strain this may place on your business. Our commitment is to navigate this together with transparency, empathy, and integrity. We are here to support you every step of the way.
We encourage our partners to reach out with any questions or concerns and reaffirm our dedication to serving our community through open communication and steadfast support.
Whitmore Lake, MI February 4th 2025
Dear TBF Community,
We want to provide another update on the 10% tariff imposed on Chinese imports by the Trump Administration. Our main priority is to remain transparent and to ensure you have all the information needed to make informed business decisions. Here is our latest update:
Per Customs Border Patrol notice this morning, inventory that shipped before the executive order was signed is scheduled to remain tariff-free. This means that products currently in our warehouse or already in transit before the order took effect will not be impacted
What This Means for Your Orders
- Tariff-Free Inventory: Any products shipped before the executive order was signed will not be subject to additional tariffs.
- Stock Update Street: We recommend regularly reviewing our Stock Update Sheet, where we will highlight current stock replenishments likely to be impacted by these tariffs as new information becomes available.
We understand that pricing stability is important to our customers, and we are doing everything to manage these changes efficiently. Our team is closely monitoring the situation and will provide updates as needed. If you have any questions or concerns about how this may impact your orders, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our team.
Whitmore Lake, MI February 2nd 2025
Dear TBF Community,
We want to provide an update on the recently imposed 10% tariff on Chinese imports by the Trump Administration and how it may impact our industry. Our priority remains transparency, fairness, and ensuring that you have the information needed to make informed business decisions.
These tariffs will affect certain products in our lineup, but we want to assure you that price adjustments will only be applied to new inventory directly impacted by these increased costs. Any products currently in stock will not be subject to these tariffs, allowing us to maintain stability as we navigate this evolving situation.
To help keep you informed, we encourage you to regularly check our Stock Update Sheet, where we we will be identifying current stock replenishments that are expected to be affected by these tariffs as information is made available. However, just because an item is subject to a tariff does not mean its price will increase immediately. In some cases, we have built up back stock that will need to be sold through first before any adjustments take place.
Over the past two and a half decades, we have weathered numerous economic challenges, including the COVID driven supply chain crisis of 2021 when container prices reached all-time highs.
As we did then, we remain committed to standing by You, our customers, by prioritizing long-term relationships with every decision and step we take forthcoming. While some may use these economic shifts as an opportunity to drive up costs, we are taking a different approach—one rooted in community and perseverance.
We are actively monitoring this situation and will continue to provide updates as more details emerge. Our goal is to minimize disruption while ensuring that our customers continue to receive the highest quality products at fair and sustainable prices.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Thank you for your continued trust and partnership. Together, we will navigate this challenge just as we have in the past—with resilience, adaptability, and a focus on what truly matters.
With gratitude,
The Bear Factory Team