Nordstrom Is Cutting Ivanka Trump’s Brand Due to Poor Sales (3)
Lindsey Rupp and Kim Bhasin, Bloomberg
Published 2:22 pm, Friday, February 3, 2017
(Bloomberg) -- Nordstrom Inc. will stop selling the controversial Ivanka Trump brand this season, a move that follows boycott threats and concerns about the first daughter’s conflicts of interest.
The department-store chain made the decision based on sales, according to a statement from the Seattle-based company. It offers thousands of brands and cuts about 10 percent each year based on how well they perform, Nordstrom said.
“In this case, based on the brand’s performance, we’ve decided not to buy it for this season,” the company said.
The department store ordered Ivanka Trump shoes and apparel for the spring season, then only followed through in purchasing apparel, a representative for the brand said late Friday afternoon. Calls and an e-mail to a Nordstrom representative seeking comment weren’t immediately returned.
9 Things to know about Ivanka Trump
This week the New York Times wrote about bidding war on a special audience with Ivanka Trump, the daughter of President Donald Trump. One of the top bidders in the charity auction happened to be Russell Ybarra, the owner of the local Tex-Mex empire that includes Gringo’s Mexican Kitchen and Jimmy Changas.
Click through to learn more about President Trump's eldest daughter...
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9 Things to know about Ivanka Trump
This week the New York Times wrote about bidding war on a special audience with Ivanka Trump, the daughter of President Donald Trump. One of the top bidders in the
... more
Photo: Andy Katz, MBR
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Early years
Ivanka Marie Trump was born on Oct. 30, 1981, the middle child and only daughter of Donald and Ivana Trump. Ivanka is a diminutive of Ivana.
Ivanka Marie Trump was born on Oct. 30, 1981, the middle child and only daughter of Donald and Ivana Trump. Ivanka is a diminutive of Ivana.
Photo: Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images
She attended the Chapin School in New York until she was 15, at which time she was sent to boarding school at Choate-Rosemary Hall in Connecticut. She has called it a "prison."
For college, Ivanka spent two years at Georgetown University before transferring to the University of Pennsylvania, her dad's alma mater.
She graduated with a degree in economics. She speaks English and French, but not much of her mother's native Czech.
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She attended the Chapin School in New York until she was 15, at which time she was sent to boarding school at Choate-Rosemary Hall in Connecticut. She has called it a "prison."
For college, Ivanka spent two
... more
Photo: New York Daily News Archive/NY Daily News Via Getty Images
She has done a little modeling but didn't really like it. (She's 5'11".) Her magazine appearances have included a slightly steamy shoot for Stuff.
She has done a little modeling but didn't really like it. (She's 5'11".) Her magazine appearances have included a slightly steamy shoot for Stuff.
Photo: PR NEWSWIRE
She married Jared Kushner, a real-estate magnate, on Oct. 25, 2009 at her dad's golf club in New Jersey. She converted to Judaism to marry Kushner.
She married Jared Kushner, a real-estate magnate, on Oct. 25, 2009 at her dad's golf club in New Jersey. She converted to Judaism to marry Kushner.
Photo: Handout/Getty Images
The couple has three children, a daughter and two sons. Their daughter has attended kindergarten at a Jewish school, where she learned Hebrew
The couple has three children, a daughter and two sons. Their daughter has attended kindergarten at a Jewish school, where she learned Hebrew
Photo: Evan Agostini, Associated Press
Ivanka counts fellow first daughter Chelsea Clinton as a friend.
Ivanka counts fellow first daughter Chelsea Clinton as a friend.
Photo: Laura Cavanaugh, FilmMagic
She is a close confidante of her father and an executive vice president in his organization.
She is a close confidante of her father and an executive vice president in his organization.
Photo: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images
She has had some criticism of her jewelry and fashion lines, including for using rabbit fur. Most recently, the attempt to market the $10,800 bangle bracelet she wore for a "60 Minutes" interview was seen by some as tacky.
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She has had some criticism of her jewelry and fashion lines, including for using rabbit fur. Most recently, the attempt to market the $10,800 bangle bracelet she wore for a "60 Minutes" interview was seen by
... more
Photo: Courtesy Photo
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Broadway
Her father may have recently derided the musical "Hamilton" as "overrated," but Ivanka saw it in March.
"I had very high expectations and they were still surpassed!" she tweeted at the time.
Her father may have recently derided the musical "Hamilton" as "overrated," but Ivanka saw it in March.
"I had very high expectations and they were still surpassed!" she tweeted at the time.
FILE -- In this Friday, Jan. 20, 2017 file photo, Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner dance at the Freedom Ball, in Washington.
FILE -- In this Friday, Jan. 20, 2017 file photo, Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner dance at the Freedom Ball, in Washington.
Photo: Evan Vucci, Associated Press
Nordstrom Is Cutting Ivanka Trump’s Brand Due to Poor Sales (3)
Nordstrom has come under fire from the Grab Your Wallet campaign, a critic of the administration that is asking shoppers to boycott retailers that carry Ivanka Trump or Donald Trump goods. Ivanka’s business also has drawn criticism for blurring the lines between brand promotion and politics. Her company sent a “style alert” to journalists in November promoting a gold bracelet that she wore during an interview on CBS Corp.’s “60 Minutes.”
The Racked fashion website reported earlier Thursday that the products had begun disappearing from Nordstrom’s e-commerce selection. And the Grab Your Wallet campaign declared victory for helping prompt the move.
“I am absolutely thrilled, and I know the vast majority of Grab Your Wallet participants will be as well,” said Shannon Coulter, a co-founder of Grab Your Wallet.
Early Partner
Despite the Nordstrom setback, Ivanka Trump’s brand continues to push into new categories: It recently added baby bedding and fashion jewelry. The company has seen year-over-year sales growth from 2015 to 2016, Rosemary Young, senior director of marketing at the brand, said in an e-mailed statement.
“The Ivanka Trump brand continues to expand across categories and distribution with increased customer support, leading us to experience significant year-over-year revenue growth in 2016,” Young said. “The strength of a brand is measured not only by the profits it generates, but the integrity it maintains.”
Nordstrom was one of the first retail partnerships for Ivanka Trump’s footwear after it was launched in 2011. Marc Fisher Footwear, a closely held shoe company, is the licensee for the products.
Co-President Pete Nordstrom addressed the controversy surrounding the partnership in a November e-mail to employees, according to Fortune. He said the company had heard from customers threatening to boycott the chain if they continued or discontinued its relationship with Trump.
“This is a sharply divisive subject,” he said. “No matter what we do, we are going to end up disappointing some of our customers. Every single brand we offer is evaluated on their results -- if people don’t buy it, we won’t sell it.”
Merchandise Selection
Merchandise selection has become even more critical for department-store chains such as Nordstrom as the industry struggles with dwindling mall traffic and consumers’ defection to online shopping. The company, which has posted declining same-store sales in two of the past three quarters, has seen its shares fall 13 percent in the past year. The stock gained 0.9 percent to $43.90 at the close Friday in New York.
In November, the company posted a response on Twitter to a shopper’s open letter calling for Nordstrom to stop selling the Ivanka Trump brand.
“We hope that offering a vendor’s products isn’t misunderstood as us taking a political position; we’re not,” the company said at the time. “We recognize our customers can make choices about what they purchase based on personal views and we’ll continue to give them options.”
(Updates with Ivanka Trump brand comment in fourth, ninth paragraphs.)
To contact the reporters on this story: Lindsey Rupp in New York at lrupp2@bloomberg.net, Kim Bhasin in New York at kbhasin4@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net, Lisa Wolfson, Kevin Orland
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