Ivanka Trump’s fashion brand is under fire, and President Trump is fighting back against the major retailers who have chosen to drop the label and no longer sell its accessories, shoes, and clothing.
Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus both cut ties with Ivanka Trump’s company this week. Ivanka has stayed mum on the matter thus far, but President Trump wouldn’t take this slight lying down.
“My daughter Ivanka has been treated so unfairly by @Nordstrom. She is a great person — always pushing me to do the right thing! Terrible!” he tweeted.
The tweet raises serious questions about conflicts of interest. Democratic Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania tagged the Office of Government Ethics in his tweet responding to Trump. According to Politico, “the former chief ethics lawyer in the Bush administration weighed in… saying the tweet was ‘absolutely unacceptable.’”
When President Trump tries to protect his daughter’s’ business interest via a tweet, some say he is abusing the power of his office. Others, including White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, say he is simply a dad looking out for his daughter.
Ivanka Trump stepped down from her official role at her company last month, prior to her father’s inauguration. However, the merchandise still bears her name, and that has made it a political target.
Millennials care deeply about patronizing brands that share their values. Chief among those values is a desire for social responsibility. Entrepreneur summed up our generation’s buying perspective:
“[Millennials are] searching for authentic, local experiences with brands that share their values, encourage social sharing and listen to their customers.”
In this case, brands are reacting to social sharing. The #GrabYourWallet campaign, composed mainly of Millennials on social media, is an organized boycott of all retailers that sell Ivanka Trump or Donald Trump brand merchandise.
TJ Maxx is rumored to be the next #GrabYourWallet domino to fall. At least one TJ Maxx location was instructed to remove all Ivanka Trump signs and to dismantle Ivanka Trump displays (and instead mix her merchandise into the larger racks of clothes). Macy’s is under similar pressure from the social campaign.
Before Trump’s rise to the Presidency, Ivanka’s brand was thriving: it brought in $100 million in revenue during the 2015 fiscal year. In 2016, the brand’s sales grew by $29.4 million. These stats cast doubt on Nordstrom’s claim that its decision to drop the label was solely based on sales.
Kellyanne Conway, Trump’s senior advisor, said this was an example of Trump’s opponents attacking his daughter’s fashion line to make a political statement.
“I do find it ironic that you’ve got these executives all around the world bragging about what they’ve done to her and her line, and yet they’re using the most prominent woman in Donald Trump’s [administration]… who’s been a champion for women in power and women in the workplace, to get to him,” she said. “I think people can see through that. Go buy Ivanka’s stuff, is what I would tell you.”
Ivanka Trump’s fashion company says it makes clothes for “Women Who Work.” Those are the women – mainly twenty- and thirty-something women – who made the brand successful. Now, women in that same age group might be the brand’s downfall. The power of the purse – just not the Ivanka Trump purse – is very real.
