Most people hear “Oprah’s Favorite Things” and think overnight success. Bobby Djavaheri hears it and remembers packing thousands of bread makers himself during COVID, loading them into his truck, and racing to FedEx. Bobby is the president of Yedi Houseware Appliances, a 40 year old family business that went from fine china and teacups to air fryers, pressure cookers, and bread makers that Oprah loves. Under his leadership, Yedi sold more than 50,000 air fryers in a single Black Friday promotion and landed on Oprah’s list close to a dozen times. Then the freight bills and tariffs hit. In this episode of Beyond the Register, we walk through what actually happened behind the headlines. You will hear: - How a 93 year old immigrant father built the foundation of the business, and why Bobby could not walk away even when tariffs hit 145 percent - The reality of “tariff whiplash” when import duties jump from a few hundred dollars per container to five figures overnight, and why Bobby now leaves cable news on in the office just to hear what policy might impact his cost of goods that day - The unglamorous survival tactic he calls “SKU normalization” (cutting entire product lines, shifting from big appliances to plates, bowls, and mugs, and rebuilding the line around what can actually survive tariffs) - A detailed look at Yedi’s product strategy how they use Amazon and Google search data, then build “total package” appliances with accessories, manuals, and recipes so customers are not intimidated by things like sous vide and air frying - What really happens when Oprah’s team selects your product from the decades-long relationship with O Magazine’s creative director to the surge of orders, the prep calls, and the founder literally taping boxes on the warehouse floor - The supply chain nightmare of 2021 Bobby standing in an empty warehouse on 60 Minutes, calling freight companies “pirates of the sea,” paying 35,000 dollars per container instead of 2,000, losing over a million dollars in profit, and watching one of his containers fall overboard in rough seas - His honest hindsight on that season including why his advice now is to “sit this one out” if the economics are that distorted, or front-load inventory early if you see the storm coming - How his view of overseas manufacturing evolved after decades of trips to Japan, Korea, Italy, and China, and what it took to turn dreaded factory visits into long term partnerships - The side story of Wine Turtle a small, allocation focused wine venture he runs on the side for mental stimulation more than money - What actually keeps him going from his father’s example to his two young sons, and the uncomfortable truth about how heavy small business ownership can feel when you are the one answering emails at night and wondering if you should just be an employee instead This is not a “how I built this” fairytale. It is a very real look at what happens when you inherit a family business, modernize it, grow it, and then get blindsided by forces you cannot control. If you run a product business, import anything, or have ever had the thought “maybe it would be easier to just get a job,” this conversation will feel very familiar and very useful. Listen to the full episode of Beyond the Register with Bobby Djavaheri, and share it with one operator in your life who is quietly carrying more than they let on. Beyond the Register is brought to you by Genius™ (Link globalpayments.com/genius) from Global Payments, the retail point of sale system designed to help busy store owners track inventory, manage customers and take payments.
