Posted on 04/12/2017 12:07:44 PM PDT by drewh
Bed Bath & Beyond used to sell Ivanka Trump’s diaper bags in various prints on its vast online store. Suddenly, in March, the listings disappeared. A customer service representative said at the time that the retailer no longer sold the first daughter’s merchandise.
Despite it being a single, vaguely humorous product, activists who despise her father declared victory. Meanwhile, Donald Trump’s supporters (and those of his daughter) lashed out. Bed Bath & Beyond decided to walk back the rep’s statement, assuring shoppers that although Ivanka’s wares were no longer available online, they could still be found in some stores.
Versions of this saga have played out among other retailers that sell Trump-branded goods. When Ivanka Trump products vanished from Belk’s website in February, the company told customers the decision was part of “normal” business operations and that Trump’s line was available at its three flagship stores. Her products also no longer appear on the website of Burlington Coat Factory, although they’re still carried in its physical stores. Same goes for Saks Off 5th and Stein Mart.
Then there’s TJ Maxx and Marshall’s, both owned by TJX Cos., which sent a note to employees instructing them to take down signs bearing the Ivanka Trump name and logo, according to the New York Times. Trump wares were removed from special featured displays and mixed into the regular racks. “All Ivanka Trump signs should be discarded,” the note said. Again, the company assured customers that it would continue to sell her merchandise in its stores.
Retailers have been hitting the same refrain—that all of this is business as usual—but activists and industry observers disagree. Usually, online assortments are much larger than what’s on the racks, not the other way around.
A spokesperson for Ivanka Trump’s brand said it has no control over how its products are merchandised, and that rotating products from online to in-store is typical. The closely held company licenses her name to vendors that make goods, including a $100 million clothing line made by G-III Apparel Group, as well as shoes and accessories. She has transferred its assets to a trust overseen by relatives of her husband, Jared Kushner, retaining ownership of the company and receiving payouts.
Sales growth for G-III slowed for the year ended Jan. 31, according to a securities filing. Net sales grew by $17.9 million last fiscal year, a 39 percent drop from a $29.4 percent increase in the same period a year earlier. G-III’s license term for the Ivanka Trump brand ends Dec. 31, 2018.
Shannon Coulter, a co-founder of Grab Your Wallet, the anti-Trump consumer movement that’s spearheaded retailer boycotts, said stores are probably trying to neutralize any public-relations problems by removing her name from their websites
Meanwhile, retailers can recover some margin by liquidating the line at physical locations. They can also point to the store presence to mollify pro-Trump groups. Hiding or downplaying the existence of Trump goods doesn’t fool consumers, though, Coulter said. Grab Your Wallet continues to boycott retailers that sell Ivanka Trump’s brand in any capacity, she said.
“This attempt to play it both ways is seen by all kinds of consumers as duplicitous,” said Coulter.
Many retailers have been cagey or simply silent. None of those that removed Ivanka Trump from their websites have said whether the brand will return there, and none of those contacted by Bloomberg have said they dumped Trump over politics. A representative for Belk said it still carries Trump’s brand, but declined to provide further details as to whether that means in-store, online, or both. Saks Off 5th declined to comment. Bed Bath & Beyond, TJX, Stein Mart, and Burlington didn’t respond to requests for comment.
All of this began, of course, back in November when her father won the election. Ivanka Trump-brand products started disappearing from such big-name retailers as Nordstrom Inc., Neiman Marcus, and ShopStyle. Anti-Trump activists called for boycotts against anyone who sold her family’s products, while Trump supporters called for boycotts of anyone who stopped selling them.
In February, Nordstrom confirmed it would stop selling her line, citing poor sales. It quickly found itself in the president’s Twitter feed, where he wrote that his daughter was being treated “so unfairly.” Kellyanne Conway, a White House adviser, defended the first daughter in a television appearance, delivering what she called “a free commercial.” White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Conway was “counseled” for her actions (which appeared to violate a ban on executive branch employees endorsing products).
Both Ivanka Trump and Kushner now have formal roles in the Trump administration. In an attempt to distance herself from the brand, she announced earlier this year that she was handing day-to-day management to top lieutenant Abigail Klem.
Given the regular drumbeat of conflict-of-interest allegations by Trump opponents, and the pushback by some supporters, it’s no surprise most stores would seek to avoid the fray. Still, says one public-relations expert, it may be best for retailers to pick a side.
“You’re going to be criticized either way, so pick a team, pick a position, and stay on it,” said Dorothy Crenshaw, founder of PR firm Crenshaw Communications. If a company waffles, she said, “it’s bound to infuriate everyone.”
Ironic.
I always thought playing Hide and Seek with Ivanka would be fun...
I’d also like to play doctor...She really could use an exam...
All the people I know go on line to purchase her products...
The stockholder ought to demand the termination of every employee, including the CEO, who willfully “hid” inventory to prevent it from being sold.
What complete deep idiots.
Her company (which she can't be involved in) could still market merchandise without it being labelled Ivanka.
I'm not a fan of the whole situation. One reason Clinton and Bush were so widely disliked is that most US voters have no taste for dynasties. Trump's children and their spouses being involved is way too dynastic. On the social side, Melania is First Lady. That's the family I want to see at official events....Donald, Melania, Barron.
Freep away.
Those diaper bags were a NECESSITY for all those liberals who crapped their pants when her father won!
It was very prescient of her.
Oh Yeah....
She rules....
The best part of this discussion is informing me of the places that will NOT see a single cent of my hard earned AMERICAN money. I appreciate the very good advice.
I bought Ivanka Trump boots. Awesome, perfect fit. Even the box gorgeous. I bought them when the media went after her.
You’d be asking Ivanka to give up hundreds of millions of dollars in brand value — and for what?
To avoid having a conflict from profiting from her role in the administration. All of the other millionaires and billionaires in the administration had to give up a lot financially so there would be no conflict of interest.
Is the US government a big customer of ‘sensible couture’ and ‘lifestyle products’? I must have missed the call for bids.
So you’re saying that the Ivanka Trump company should just completely shut down, putting 1000’s or more, people out of work, and costing her 100’s of millions of dollars.
And what about all the contracts they’re signed for product? Who pays the penalties for breaking them?
And you can’t say, just drop the Ivanka Trump name. Her name IS the company.
Let’s say you own a thriving home construction company as So n So Jr. And your father, a politician, So n So Sr., is elected Governor.
Are you going to shut down your business and go broke, along with all your employees?
You stated "her name IS the company". If the products were superior and competitive, they wouldn't need her name to sell them.
My view is slanted here. Every indication is that both Ivanka and Jared are really democrats, and they aren't on board with the FreedomCaucus/Deplorable agenda. It would be wonderful if they both went back to NYC and their business interests.
I take it that you don't understand the concept of “Celebrity” brand marketing. The reason that people buy it IS the name.
Martha Stewart, Paula Deen, Rachael Ray, Jaclyn Smith, Michael Jordan, etc.
You think people are going to pay $300 for a pair of sneakers without some basketball star's name on it?
Without the name there is no sale, no matter how ‘superior’ the product is.
Without the Ivanka Trump name, there is no product, there is no company.
We respectfully disagree.
This is the exact reason we are not registering our wedding at bed bath and bozos... way to go!
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