FASHION BACKLASH FOR IVANKA TRUMP
Her label draws Twitter wrath and protests— but the powerful businesswoman and political confidante struts on
Shannon Coulter was browsing Nordstrom. com when a pair of black, over- the- knee boots popped up on screen. The label? Ivanka Trump. That was about all Coulter could take. Angry that Trump continued to support her father’s presidential bid in the wake of his lewd comments about groping women, Coulter took to Twitter, co- creating the # grabyourwallet hashtag. Aimed at pressuring retailers to stop carrying any items bearing the name Trump, the tag has now shown up in Twitter feeds over 119 million times, Coulter says.
“I definitely had respect for her
You’ve got to be crazy to think she’s going to turn her back on her own father and pin on an ‘ I’m for Hillary’ button.’’ Brand Keys President Robert Passikoff
as a business person,’’ said Coulter, who has a brand marketing firm in the San Francisco Bay Area. “But when she chose to make herself such a passionate and prominent part of the Donald Trump campaign, that’s when the disconnect became too large.’’
Macy’s — along with TV networks NBC and Univision — cut commercial ties with Donald Trump months ago after his controversial comments about Mexican immigrants. But now there’s a clamor on social media for major retailers such as Nordstrom, Lord & Taylor and others to do the same to brands helmed by Ivanka Trump.
Along with # grabyourwallet, Ivanka Trump has attracted other protest hashtags, including # fashionnotfacism and # BoycottIvanka. E- commerce shopping tool ShopRunner says it has seen a 40% drop in interest in her brand since the boycott began in early October.
Still, retailers do not appear to be budging. “Some customers have reached out to share their thoughts on this brand,’’ Nordstrom said in a statement. “We appreciate their feedback and at this time don’t have any plans to stop offering it.’’
Despite the social media backlash, Ivanka Trump’s brand appears to be thriving. Brand Keys, a brand loyalty consultancy, found that 83% of Millennial women polled in mid- October said they were at least somewhat likely to consider buying her products.
While the Ivanka Trump brand is privately held and is not required to disclose sales figures, the company says it saw 37% growth in sales and revenue last year compared with 2014. It says monthly visitation to its website is expected to rise 120% this year.
“When it comes to Ivanka, I think people make the distinction between the political and the paternal,’’ Brand Keys President Robert Passikoff says. “You’ve got to be crazy to think she’s going to turn her back on her own father and pin on an ‘ I’mfor Hillary’ button.’’
Trump did criticize her father’s comments in which he spoke of grabbing and kissing women without their consent during an exchange with Billy Bush ahead of a 2005 shoot with Access Hollywood. In a statement to Fast Company, she said those “comments were clearly inappropriate and offensive.”
But Trump has at times blurred politics and business. In July, she encouraged her Twitter followers to shop for the outfit she’d worn just a few hours earlier when she introduced her father at the GOP convention in Cleveland. Interest in Trump’s outfit jumped 19 times the night of the convention.