Nordstrom announced last night that it is dropping the Ivanka Trump brand from its stores and now Neiman Marcus is following suit, as a growing number of consumers speak out against the brands carrying Trump goods on social media.
Shortly after Nordstrom announced that it is ridding its brick-and-mortar and online shops of Ivanka Trump apparel, Neiman Marcus allegedly removed the products as well: Ivanka Trump jewelry offerings have disappeared from its website, and Racked reported that a sales associate had pulled them from a store in New Jersey. (Neiman Marcus did not respond to request for comment.)
While Nordstrom asserts that the decision to ditch the line was a response to poor performance, social media users have taken to Twitter to both praise and denounce Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus, as well as Grab Your Wallet, the organization that has largely spearheaded boycotting Trump-affiliated stores. Nordstrom currently has three remaining Ivanka Trump shoes on its site, all discounted at 40 percent off.
“We’ve said all along we make buying decisions based on performance. We’ve got thousands of brands – more than 2,000 offered on the site alone,” Nordstrom said in a statement. “Reviewing their merit and making edits is part of the regular rhythm of our business. Each year, we cut about 10 percent and refresh our assortment with about the same amount. In this case, based on the brand’s performance, we’ve decided not to buy it for this.”
However, Rosemary Young, senior director of marketing at Ivanka Trump, said in response that Nordstrom has ordered shoes and apparel for spring, and moved forward with the purchase of apparel.
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“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 in a statement. “We believe that the strength of a brand is measured not only by the profits it generates, but the integrity it maintains. The women behind the brand represent a diverse group of professionals and we are proud to say that the Ivanka Trump brand continues to embody the principles upon which it was founded. It is a company built to inspire women with solution-oriented offerings, created to celebrate and service the many aspects of their lives.”
The remaining Ivanka Trump styles on Nordstrom’s website.
Social media chatter over Nordstrom news spiked late Thursday night and Friday morning, with a 336 percent increase in mentions over the last two days. Nordstrom has been mentioned 30,000 times on Twitter this week, and 17,000 of those mentions occurred following the Ivanka Trump news, according to data from Brandwatch.
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While many users lauded the move, others were not so keen to see Nordstrom remove the products, claiming it’s not Nordstrom’s place to take a political stance. Overall sentiment for Nordstrom over the week was 68.3 percent positive, according to Kellan Terry, senior data analyst at Brandwatch. However, over the past two days, negative sentiment has increased to 52.5 percent, as pro-Trump, anti-Nordstrom tweets entered the discussion. The hashtag #grabyourwallet was used 3,700 times in connection with Nordstrom.
#ThankYou #Nordstrom for getting rid of #IvankaTrump‘s clothing line. #UnPOTUS #TheResistance #EndHate #EndRacism #EndBigotry 🇺🇸
— Spencer Karter (@SpencerKarter) February 3, 2017
So disappointed in Nordstrom turning political. #boycottnordstrom
— Lonie Brice (@LonieBrice) February 3, 2017
If anything this just makes me want to shop at @Nordstrom even more. #ForeverNordstrom
— Lippy Broad ن (@dc_byrne) February 3, 2017
Uber’s CEO resigned from Trump’s council. Nordstrom is dropping Ivanka Trump.
Vote 👏 with 👏 your 👏 money
— Jeanna Kadlec (@jeannakadlec) February 3, 2017
Grab Your Wallet was started by Stephanie Coulter and Sue Atencio in October 2016 in response to the leaked tapes depicting President Donald Trump referencing grabbing women “by the pussy.” The pair began by announcing their effort on Twitter, encouraging users to use the hashtag #GrabYourWallet to help persuade retail stores to stop selling Trump products and services. The two maintain a real-time list of companies that continue carrying Trump brands and update it accordingly.
Big news everyone. You did this. I am in awe. https://t.co/q9vwmyfpbn
— Shannon Coulter (@shannoncoulter) February 2, 2017
As The New York Times noted, Nordstrom made a public statement on Twitter in November about its decision to continue selling her products, claiming the move was not indicative of bias: “We hope that offering a vendor’s products isn’t misunderstood as us taking a political position. We’re not.”
Several department stores are still carrying Ivanka Trump’s products, including Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s and Dilliards. (The companies did not respond to request for comment.)
This post has been updated with a statement from the Ivanka Trump team.
