Poor performance prompted Nordstrom to drop Ivanka Trump's fashion line, data shows

By

Edina Sultanik

Published
Feb 14, 2017

Was it performance? Or politics? Major American specialty retailer Nordstrom maintains that its decision to stop selling Ivanka Trump footwear and accessories was purely business. Not politics.

The move has drawn the attention of the media and even the president himself has complained about the shift.

“My daughter Ivanka has been treated so unfairly by @Nordstrom,” he tweeted in defense of his daughter’s brand.

Yet the retailer maintains that the decision to discontinue carrying the line was based on bottom line.  According to the Wall Street Journal, sales of Ivanka Trump’s fashion line dropped by almost a third at Nordstrom Inc. last fiscal year, ringing in only $14.3 million in sales, down from $20.9 million the year before, with sales dipping even lower in the weeks running up to the election.
 
“Over the past year, and particularly in the last half of 2016, sales of the brand have steadily declined to the point where it didn’t make good business sense for us to continue with the line for now,” a Nordstrom spokeswoman said on Wednesday.