Wednesday, June 18, 2025
Halloween may look very different this year for Fun World, a Carle Place-based costume company that has been in business since 1966.
Burdened by skyrocketing production costs brought on by a 145 percent tariff imposed on Chinese imports by President Trump last month, the company may be forced to close.
Fun World CEO Alan Geller, a Sea Cliff resident, said that his business, which designs its costumes in the United States but manufactures them in China, has always been profitable, but that will change in 2025.
“This will be the first year that we will not make a profit,” Geller said at a news conference last Friday in the company’s warehouse. “If the sudden and extreme tariff does not reverse, we may close our doors permanently.”
Geller joined other business owners and U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi to speak out against the tariffs, which were imposed by the Trump administration on April 9 as part of a broader effort to penalize China and “reshore” American manufacturing. Suozzi said he supports holding countries like China accountable for unfair trade practices, but criticized the implementation.
“You have to have a plan and give businesses time to adjust,” he said, surrounded by racks of colorful costumes.
The tariffs hit many companies without warning. Geller said that Fun World had placed orders for merchandise months before the tariffs were announced, and had no choice but to bring in goods that were already on the water.
The Chinese tariff added an unexpected burden — he cited one shipment that previously cost $100,000, whose price spiked to $245,000.
“This was money for which we had not budgeted,” Geller said. “Borrowing money at 8 percent interest to pay the tariffs would further reduce profits.”
Fun World, which employs about 200 people, including 85 in Carle Place, has already taken drastic steps to stay afloat. Salaries have been cut by 20 percent, and the company will forgo profit-sharing for the first time in its history.
Equipment purchases have been delayed, and Geller said that shutting down the business remains a real possibility.
The tariffs, originally set at 10 percent on Chinese imports, doubled to 20 percent last month and were soon followed by the 145 percent increase.
Canada and Mexico are also facing new tariffs on goods entering the U.S., including a 25 percent tax on general imports and 10 percent on Canadian energy products.
All three nations have promised retaliatory measures.
Canada has proposed tariffs on billions of dollars worth of American products, and China has imposed tariffs of up to 15 percent on U.S. farm exports and expanded restrictions on American companies.
Geller said that although Fun World would prefer to manufacture domestically, the infrastructure simply doesn’t exist.
“There is insufficient labor to handle the large volume that’s desired by the consumers,” he explained. “The investment to build the factories and buy the equipment would take years and would be very expensive, and the machines … that we need are not made here. Guess what? They’re made in China.”
Another Sea Cliff business owner, Roger Friedman, of Bernstein Display, said his company is facing similar financial peril.
Bernstein, which produces mannequins and store fixtures for major retailers, had already locked in purchase agreements with Chinese suppliers and pre-negotiated sales with U.S. clients when the tariff was announced.
It added $6 million in costs to $8 million worth of orders — costs that Friedman said his customers aren’t willing to absorb.
“This is a 145 percent tax on our business — it’s not being paid by China,” he said. “Our clients don’t want to bear this cost because that increases their costs, which in turn they’ll have to pass on to their customers.”
Bernstein Display employs 70 people. Friedman said the company is struggling to cover payroll, rent and production costs while navigating the tariff’s financial shock. “As a small business, we don’t have the resources to weather this kind of shock,” he said. “Small and medium-sized businesses like ours — we’re the job creators in this country. And we’re being crushed.”
Friedman said he is still hopeful the situation will be resolved, but questioned how long businesses like his can survive. “I don’t think this is going to bring more jobs to America,” he said. “In fact, I think it threatens those jobs.”
Suozzi echoed those concerns. “Tariffs are appropriate in certain circumstances,” he said, “but you have to do it in a way that’s not reckless, that is not throwing these businesses for a complete loop and putting them in serious financial harm.”
