U.S. Specialty Retail: Adrienne's Friday Five 7/2/26: Tariff Talk

Research evidence excerpt

U.S. Specialty Retail: Adrienne's Friday Five 7/2/26: Tariff Talk

Equity Research

2 July 2026

U.S. Specialty Retail

Adrienne's Friday Five 7/2/26:

Tariff Talk

The week’s 5 biggest takeaways in 5 bullets read in 5 minutes. U.S. Specialty Retail, Apparel & Footwear

We distill the most relevant data for investors in our sector to POSITIVE

noodle on over the weekend. This week's "Friday" goes out U.S. Specialty Retail, Apparel &

Footwear

Thursday. Adrienne Yih

+1 212 526 5257

adrienne.yih@barclays.com

“The tariff story is no longer about whether BCI, US

companies can survive higher costs – it’s about Michael Vu +1 212 526 9568

who exits 2026 with expanding margins” michael.vu@barclays.com

BCI, US

The tariff narrative for apparel and footwear is changing. Investors have spent months asking Angus Kelleher

whether tariffs would compress margins. The more relevant question today is whether peak +1 212 526 0081

tariff pressure has already passed. If July 24, 2026 does not usher in another significant angus.kelleherferguson@barclays.com

escalation, the industry’s highest-cost inventory should increasingly be behind it in 1H26, BCI, US

creating the potential for sequential gross margin improvement throughout the remainder of Donald Tiburzi

2026. +1 212 526 3253

donald.tiburzi@barclays.com

1. July 24, 2026 likely to be followed by more permanent policy; we do not expect it to be BCI, US

worse than status quo. The temporary 10% global tariff imposed under Section 122 is

scheduled to expire on July 24, 2026, making it an important policy date for the consumer

sector this year. Investors should be watching less for whether tariffs disappear and more for

what replaces them. The Administration has several legal avenues to maintain tariffs under