Ivanka Trump is officially closing her fashion business, which has been struggling to survive since her father, US President Donald Trump, was elected and she moved to Washington DC to work with him.
When Ivanka moved last spring, Abigail Klem became president of the fashion brand. Klem on Tuesday told the company’s 18 employees that the fashion company is closing. According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, Ivanka was to address the employees later on today.
Trump unlikely to return to the retail world
Trump went on to tell The Wall Street Journal that she is currently uncertain if she would return to the fashion retail industry when she eventually leaves Washington DC.
She said after 17 months working in Washington her focus in the foreseeable future is to do the work she is currently doing for the White House administration. She said that making the decision to close the business was only fair to her employees and partners.
Ivanka Trump’s fashion brand lasted about 256 scaramuccis.
— Charlotte Clymer🏳️🌈 (@cmclymer) July 24, 2018
Ivanka Trump line surged during the 2016 elections
After Trump opened the company in 2011, she experienced a surge in business while the 2016 election campaign was running. By 31 January 31, 2017, sales of the Ivanka Trump line of clothing went up by 61 percent or $47.3 million from the previous year.
However, after Donald Trump won the election and became the US President, Ivanka started to work with him in the White House.
As soon as she stepped aside from the company’s operations, sales began to fall. The volume of sales steadily decreased from then on.
Ivanka Trump company shuts down. Sales had fallen to the point where “it didn’t make good business sense to continue”, dropped by stores Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Jetcom, DSW, Shoescom, Belk, ShopStyle, Gilt, Hudson’s Bayhttps://t.co/tfSe8FpZ0W
— Alfons López Tena #FBPE (@alfonslopeztena) July 24, 2018
Nordstrom drops Ivanka Trump brand
As reported by the Financial Times, after Nordstrom, an American fashion retailer, dropped Ivanka’s line, her father lashed out against the company on Twitter, saying they had treated his daughter “unfairly.” Nordstrom said they hadn’t dropped Ivanka’s fashion line over her father’s policies and said that sales of the line had deteriorated so much it only made good business sense to discontinue it.
Nordstrom wasn’t alone, as T.J. Maxx and the Nieman Marcus Group have also scaled back their policies over the Ivanka Trump brand. However, Saks Off 5th, Bloomingdales and Lord & Taylor continue to offer her brand. There are also online sales through Amazon and Zappos.
Ivanka’s clothing line shutting down now can only mean that some nicer, more creative designer shut down last season
— Jess Dweck (@TheDweck) July 24, 2018
A scandal then arose when Donald Trump’s senior adviser, Kellyanne Conway, told people to buy “Ivanka’s stuff” during a televised interview in the White House briefing room.
Her actions were then widely criticized, as the White House shouldn’t get involved in business activities.
Klem said that Ivanka had grown increasingly frustrated over various restrictions placed on the brand and has been mulling over whether to close the company in recent months. However, Klem did say that Trump was very proud of the brand.