Ivanka Trump is pulling the plug on her clothing brand for the “foreseeable future,” the White House senior adviser announced Tuesday.
The company, based in New York’s Trump Tower, had been dropped by retailers such as Nordstrom and Hudson’s Bay Co. due to falling sales. Its dresses, shoes and handbags — all of which were made in foreign countries such as China and Indonesia — also conflicted with her push of more jobs in the United States.
Trump started her fine jewelry line in 2007. Since then, she has expanded to shoes, clothing and eyewear. For now, Trump said her “focus for the foreseeable future will be the work I am doing here in Washington.” She called the company’s closure “the only fair outcome for my team and partners.”
Since her father’s presidential campaign began in 2016, her brand of affordable fashion for young, professional women became a polarizing political statement, bought in solidarity by Trump supporters and boycotted vigorously by liberals. The Grab Your Wallet campaign, for example, urged participants to avoid shopping at stores that sell Trump family merchandise.
In December, she opened a store in the lobby of Manhattan’s Trump Tower, where she said she hoped to sell handbags, jewelry and candles directly to consumers, raising concerns among some ethics experts who said it was yet another way for the Trump family to tap into the wallets of their supporters.
“Views on the brand have become highly polarized, and it has become a lightning rod for protests and boycotts,” said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail. “While the company is still viable, doing business has become far more challenging and these problems will only increase.”