Ivanka Trump's Fashion Brand Is Shutting Down
After several ups and downs—most recently, getting dropped by another retailer—Ivanka Trump’s fashion brand is shutting down.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Abigail Klem, president of the Ivanka Trump brand, announced the closing to the company’s 18 employees on Tuesday, with Ivanka Trump, the person, expected to speak to them later in the day.
In a statement issued to Glamour, Klem said she was proud of the company they built and product they sold, noting that the business had “seen strong sales since the brand’s inception, which continued throughout this year with the successful launch of our rapidly growing e-commerce business.”
“I know that this was a very difficult decision for Ivanka, and I am very grateful for the opportunity to have led such a talented and committed team,” Klem added.
Ivanka Trump, the person, also released a statement, which was obtained by Glamour: “When we first started this brand, no one could have predicted the success that we would achieve. After 17 months in Washington, I do not know when or if I will ever return to the business, but I do know that my focus for the foreseeable future will be the work I am doing here in Washington, so making this decision now is the only fair outcome for my team and partners. I am beyond grateful for the work of our incredible team who has inspired so many women; each other and myself included. While we will not continue our mission together, I know that each of them will thrive in their next chapter.”
PHOTO: Chip Somodevilla
Trump, 36, left the apparel and accessories brand in January 2017, to join President Trump’s administration. Though she cut official managerial ties with the company, she was still often photographed in Washington, D.C., wearing Ivanka Trump–branded clothing. Despite ongoing boycotts and criticism, signage went up inside Trump Tower in New York in August 2017, announcing the first stand-alone Ivanka Trump store, which would open later that year.
Because the business is privately owned, financial records and sales information aren’t available for the Ivanka Trump fashion brand; however, retailers that have dropped the brand have cited poor sales as a reason. From June 2017 to June 2018, WSJ reports that online sales for the label on Amazon, Macy’s Inc., Bloomingdale’s, and Zappos.com were down almost 45 percent, per data from Rakuten Intelligence.
Shannon Coulter, cofounder of #GrabYourWallet, which urges retailers carrying brands associated with the Trump family to cease business with them, celebrated the news of the Ivanka Trump brand closing on Twitter. “Yes, it’s true: Ivanka Trump is shuttering her fashion line,” she wrote. “Things may be close at the polls. They are not at the cash register. The big hearted, fair minded people hold the majority of the consumer power and we vote every single day.”
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