- Ivanka Trump's fashion company announced on Tuesday that it would be shutting down.
- The news led to mixed reactions online. While boycotters of the brand celebrated on social media, some fans headed out to stores to pick up the remaining pieces of her collection and offered their support on Facebook.
- Some items will continue to be manufactured and sold by the company's licensing partners for at least the next few months.
Ivanka Trump, the president's daughter and adviser, announced on Tuesday she would be closing her brand to focus on her career in Washington.
The news created mixed emotions — boycott-Trump supporters celebrated the decision as a major victory in their campaign to stop companies from doing business with the Trump family, while for loyal fans, it kicked off a buying spree to pick up the last pieces of her collection.
The Washington Post spoke to one fan, 67-year-old Libby Hess, who was so eager to show her support for Trump’s line that after she heard the news of the brand shutting down, she began searching for Ivanka Trump dresses online.
When she couldn't find anything left in her size, she said she drove to Macy's, Marshalls and TJ Maxx, which have continued to stock her collection despite the efforts of boycotters.
It took Hess three hours of searching before she came home with a pair of black pants and a blouse.
"I'm very supportive of Donald Trump and his businesses," she told the Washington Post. Hess used to work as a budget analyst for the federal government.
Others fans offered their support on social media.
"So sad that the same people screaming about how women aren't treated fairly in business were the same ones trying to destroy yours. My very best to you and your team. I truly wish you the very best in your future endeavors. Your clothing and shoe lines were beautiful, as are you. You are a poised, intelligent businesswoman, and an excellent example to little girls everywhere," one consumer wrote on the company's Facebook page.
"I always shop the Ivanka label and love everything I have purchased. I am so sad to see this news. I hope the Ivanka Trump line comes back someday. No thanks to the jealous haters," another shopper wrote.
While Ivanka Trump had stepped down from the day-to-day operations of her fashion label in 2017, she is still listed online as being the founder of the company and generated income from the business, to the tune of $5 million in 2017.
While her father's presidency has given the company more attention, it hasn't always played in its favor. According to The Wall Street Journal, online sales surged at the company in 2016 and early 2017 after it was thrust into the limelight during the election, but since then have trended downwards.
According to Rakuten Intelligence, which looks at aggregated receipts from online purchases, in the past twelve months sales for Ivanka Trump products on those sites had fallen almost 45% compared to a year ago, the Wall Street Journal reported.
In the past two years, it has also been a central target of a boycott movement headed by Shannon Coulter, a brand and digital strategist, who set up the #GrabYourWallet hashtag to encourage people seeking a way to take concrete action against President Donald Trump to boycott companies — large and small — that do business with the family.
As a result, several brands such as Nordstrom, Jet.com, and Gilt dropped the Ivanka Trump fashion line in the past year. In July, Hudson's Bay became the latest store to do so, citing poor performance as the reason for doing so.
Trump's line of clothing, shoes, and accessories will continue to be manufactured and sold by the company's licensing partners, a representative for the brand said Tuesday.
That means shoppers will continue to be able to purchase Ivanka Trump products at retailers including Lord & Taylor, Dillards, Bloomingdales, Zappos, Amazon, and Von Maur, among others, for at least several months.
Abigail Klem, who took over as president of the company when Trump stepped down from day-to-day operations in 2017, said in a statement that she and others at the company are "incredibly proud of the brand we have built and the content and product we've developed."
"We've seen strong sales since the brand's inception, which continued through this year with the successful launch of our rapidly growing e-commerce business," Klem said.
Read more about Ivanka Trump's brand:
- Ivanka Trump's fashion company is shutting down
- Ivanka Trump's fashion company is shutting down. Here's the full story of the first daughter's business from its founding to the end.
- An anti-Trump movement is calling for the boycott of these 23 retailers
- People are congratulating the leaders of a massive anti-Trump boycott for shutting down Ivanka Trump's fashion line
- Ivanka Trump distanced herself from her fashion line when her family moved into the White House, but she still reportedly made $5 million off the company last year
- Online sales of Ivanka Trump's brand reportedly plummeted in the last year
- Ivanka Trump is shutting down her fashion company — and reactions reveal another major division in America
- A Canadian department store is the latest retailer to stop selling Ivanka Trump products
- Americans have worse perceptions of Ivanka Trump and Trump Hotels than almost any other brand in the US
- TRUMP: Ivanka's life would be 'so much easier' if she weren't my daughter
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