Trump's tariffs tripled this company's sales. CEO says 'some people rushed into...'

US President Donald Trump had on April 11 issued a temporary exemption for electronic products, but subsequently announced plans to introduce specific tariffs targeting them that could take effect in May.

While many US companies have strongly expressed their concern about the wide-ranging tariffs announced by President Donald Trump, which threaten to increase their companies’ costs and thereby increase prices for consumers, one company has claimed that its sales have tripled.

Hug de Larauze, the co-founder and CEO of Back Market, an online marketplace for used tech devices, told CNBC Make It that sales tripled over a single week after Trump made his tariff announcements. “Maybe some people rushed into [replacing their smartphones or computers] earlier, because they were afraid it’s going to cost so much more weeks from now,” he said.

Larause was referring to the anxiety among consumers regarding their electronic devices that are mostly manufactured in China. And since the country was facing a 145 percent total tariff rate on goods imported to the US, it may have led people to quickly replace their devices before the tariffs became operational.

The CEO's takeaway from Back Market’s boom week was that more Americans could start opting for pre-owned devices if Trump’s tariffs increase prices on new electronics for the foreseeable future. “This is a big opportunity to change the way American people consume this stuff, because the incentive has never been as high to avoid those tariffs,” he told CNBC Make It.

Larause's observations were echoed by a few analysts. Dan Ives, Wedbush Securities global head of technology research, told the publication that prolonged tariffs could cause a “huge uptick” in short-term sales of pre-owned and refurbished devices, especially smartphones.

Trump had on April 11 issued a temporary exemption for electronic products, but subsequently announced plans to introduce specific tariffs targeting them that could take effect in May.