New York - Before her father became president, Ivanka
Trump built a successful fashion label selling clothing, shoes, and handbags in
hundreds of department stores and boutiques across the country. But this
winter, following an acrimonious election and protests against Donald Trump and
his policies, Ivanka Trump products started vanishing from such stores
as Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, and ShopStyle.
Anti-Trump activists called for boycotts against anyone
who sold Trump family products; Trump supporters called for boycotts against
anyone who stopped selling Trump products.
The controversy has left retailers in a peculiar
place, and many have remained cagey or simply silent on the matter, hoping to
remain apolitical and avoid the fate of Nordstrom, which found itself in the
president's crosshairs after ditching the first daughter’s label. None have
said they dumped Trump over her family's politics.
So who’s actually selling–or not selling–Ivanka Trump?
Ivanka Tracker (Last updated: April 7)
April 3 - Bed Bath & Beyond: The retailer drops
Ivanka Trump diaper bags from its website. The products remain available in
some stores.
Feb. 23 - Macy’s: Trans-rights demonstrators march into
Macy’s Manhattan flagship to pressure the store into dropping Ivanka Trump’s
clothes.
Feb. 13 - Burlington Coat Factory: Ivanka Trump
merchandise appears to vanish from Burlington Coat Factory's e-commerce site.
The company did not respond to requests for comment.
Feb. 13 – Sears: Sears responds to rumours that it had
dropped Trump-branded merchandise from its stores, assuring shoppers that
it still sells "hundreds" of Trump and Ivanka Trump products on its
website.
Feb. 11 – Nordstrom: Sales of Ivanka Trump products at
Nordstrom had fallen 32 percent last fiscal year, according to internal
documents obtained by the Wall Street Journal.
Feb. 9 – Belk: Belk says it dropped Ivanka Trump
from its online shop and most stores, but still offers the brand in its three
flagship locations, according to AL.com.
Feb. 8 – Nordstrom: President Trump lashes out at
Nordstrom for dropping Ivanka Trump’s fashion line, calling the decision
“terrible” and unfair to his daughter.
Feb. 8 – TJ Maxx: TJ Maxx tells employees to get rid of
all Ivanka Trump signage in its stores, according to a report by the New
York Times.
Feb. 7 – ShopStyle: Online fashion seller ShopStyle
says in a statement that it removed Ivanka Trump’s line from its database
because of a “decline in demand,” BuzzFeed reported.
Read also: Trump to back away from business to focus on White House
Feb. 6 – Jet.com: Online retailer Jet appears to drop
Ivanka Trump’s products from its website, according to a report from Mic.
Feb. 6 – Belk: Ivanka Trump items disappear from Belk’s
website, according to Racked. The department store said in a statement that it
made adjustments to its assortment “as part of our normal course of business
operations.”
Feb. 5 – Macy's: Macy’s falls under increased
pressure from customers and employees to stop selling Ivanka Trump
products.
Feb 3. – Neiman Marcus: Ivanka Trump jewellery vanishes
from the Neiman Marcus website. The company acknowledges in a statement that it
has a “very small” Ivanka Trump consignment business that’s assessed by
productivity.
Feb. 2 – Nordstrom: Nordstrom confirms that it will stop
selling the Ivanka Trump brand, citing poor sales.
Stepping down
Ivanka Trump stepped down from her role as head of her
fashion label in January. It’s unclear if she has divested in the company since
President Trump took office.
The 35-year-old has played a role in her father’s
administration, sitting in on meetings with foreign leaders and advisory
councils. Many viewed her as a key surrogate for the Trump campaign, though she
has denied playing such a role. Her husband, Jared Kushner, is now a senior
adviser to the president and a principal figure in the White House.
Ivanka first ventured into licensed products in 2007
with a collaboration on fine jewellery. In 2011, she launched her eponymous
fashion label, adding shoes made by Marc Fisher Footwear in 2011 and a clothing
deal with G-III Apparel Group in 2012.
When the elder Trump launched his bid for the White
House, Ivanka’s brand had a moment in the spotlight. When she introduced her
father at the Republican National Convention wearing a sheath dress from her
collection, her brand marketed the piece on social media, drawing
criticism.
The scrutiny—and promotion—of Ms. Trump’s brand continued
after the election. Last November, after her brand issued a “style
alert” press release to tout the gold bracelet she wore during an
interview on CBS’s 60 Minutes, critics accused her of abusing her family’s
position to make money.
Now retailers wary of wading into politics are facing
questions about their relationships with the first daughter. Ivanka Trump’s
brand and the companies that carry it have drawn the ire of the Grab Your
Wallet campaign, a critic of the administration that’s asking shoppers to shun
products under the Trump name.
Still sold
Her line is still sold at Macy’s, Zappos, Lord &
Taylor, Bloomingdale’s and Dillard’s, but some retailers have retreated.
Shoes.com dropped her line in November. Then Nordstrom, which was an early
supporter of Ivanka Trump’s shoe line, said Feb. 2 it would stop selling the
brand, citing poor sales.
Nordstrom's decision got the president’s attention.
Donald Trump rebuked the department store chain in a tweet on Feb. 8 for
treating his daughter “unfairly.”
Other retailers quietly followed Nordstrom’s example.
Products have disappeared from the Neiman Marcus and Jet.com websites. TJX
Companies, which owns the T.J. Maxx and Marshalls retail chains, told employees
to mix Ivanka Trump goods in with other items, rather than display them
separately. Workers were instructed to remove any Ivanka-related signage.
The brand isn’t backing down. According to the
company, sales were up 21 percent in 2016, in spite of the liberal outcry
against the president and his policies–or perhaps because of it, since the
Trump name is now more famous than ever.
Controversy surrounding Trump’s fashion business may
not die down soon. Her $100 million apparel line is made abroad in such
manufacturing hubs as China, Vietnam, and Indonesia. That conflicts directly
with her father’s “America First” rhetoric.
The Trump line is interested in “being a part of the
conversation” about increasing US production, President Abigail Klem said in
2016, but that will be a tall order with only 2 percent of apparel sold in the
US made domestically.