Business, not politics, decided
Minneapolis: As someone who has been in the women’s apparel trade for decades and whose late husband Douglas founded Target, I believe the withdrawal of Ivanka Trump’s line by Nordstrom is a normal part of the retail business and that President Trump has wrongly attacked a fine company. Twenty years ago I served as the officer of a large better/designer women’s apparel manufacturer in New York. In my last year the company I represented received the annual award of the most valuable vendor from the Nordstrom brothers among thousands of competitors. (Because of their regional approach to merchandise selection, there were many more vendors than most retailers customarily work with.)
In developing our relationship with Nordstrom in previous years, we learned that the merchandising in the company was not centralized but regional. This meant the regions had five to six buyers for the same department, which required intense vendor presentation to all instead of one buyer and gaining collaborative support. When all buyers agreed on a strategy we could proceed. This is unlike 95% of all other department stores then and now. The company executives, while providing leadership for focus and growth, always considered their merchandising from a bottom-up approach. While they had many more buyers reflecting sales per square foot, they were deeply loyal to this extraordinary base of merchants who knew their customers.
To me, the withdrawal of Ivanka’s line does not reflect emotion or politics from this fine company but rather a calculated evaluation of Ivanka’s merchandise performance and its margin in relation to other manufacturers within each product category.
Celebrity apparel lines always carry their own inherent risks. The conclusion of their regional merchants was collaborative as always. Every effort was always made to insure that if one region was struggling with a product the other areas would do everything possible to help them succeed. The company leadership, with deep integrity, gave this power to its loyal employees, and all these years later Nordstrom has not only maintained but grown their incredible “Continue to keep America Great ” attitude providing quality, value and trend worthiness to its customers.
For President Trump to suggest that the company is politically after his family is absurd and insulting to such a fine company as Nordstrom with its legacy and continuing promise of customer satisfaction. This personalization is shocking coming from a self-proclaimed legitimate businessman who is now our President.
The elimination of Ivanka’s merchandise is due to customer rejection of its quality and/or value and resulting lack of sales. The collaborative regional bottom-up decision was based on the merchandise performance. Wendy Dayton
The Siberian candidate
Bronx: One down. Trump to go! It’s now very clear Donald Trump was installed in the White House by the Kremlin. This is a first in American history. He’s got to go!
Pauline Graham Binder
It’s not funny
Staten Island: Supposedly, the Russian intelligence officers who had a bug weaved into Donald Trump’s hair overheard the following while the President was watching his favorite show, “SNL”: Laughing hysterically at Alec Baldwin’s impersonation of him, the President wondered aloud if an updated “SNL” debate between Trump (impersonating Alec Baldwin impersonating himself) and Kellyanne Conway (“largest inauguration ever,” “alternative facts,” “Trump would’ve kept Michael Flynn if he hadn’t resigned,” etc...) would start, “Kellyanne, you ignorant slut!” Stephen Bannon and Stephen Miller, co-ringmasters of the Trump Circus, neither affirmed nor denied this story.
Jay Silberman
Try another general
Scranton, Pa.: Retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg is in and Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn is out as national security adviser. Kellogg is a good choice, as Kellogg’s breakfast cereal is made in Battle Creek, Michigan. And the embattled administration of Donald Trump, a bowl of flakes gone bananas, is up a creek without a spoon. Vin Morabito
Learning from the experts
Brisbane, Australia: Will Keith Kellogg be another Trump cereal liar? Lawrence Heyn Oxnard, Calif.: What’s amazing and kind of condescending is that you have a President who consistently lies, and has been caught in several lies. Staff such as Kellyann Conway and doughboy must feel that if Trump can get away with it, it’s okay for them to continue to lie. Personally, I feel that Trump had a lot to do with this as he has advocated for Putin from the beginning. Trump is a liar, a racist, a political divider and a danger to the nation. Patricia Ellison
Bad spellir
Staten Island: I see that Trumpster issued an inauguration poster containing a typo, which had to be recalled. Perhaps he shouldn’t have had Betsy DeVos proofread it for him. Victor R. Stanwick
Partisan posturing
Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.: The Obama administration deported over 3 million people during its two terms, and no one on the left or anyone in the mainstream media raised an eyebrow. Now President Trump is doing the same by arresting and potentially deporting illegal criminal aliens and the liberal outrage is off the charts. The hypocrisy and dishonest reporting is what is un-American here. Michael P. Devine
TV family
St. Petersburg, Fla.: I am once again devastated by the changes in the “Today” show. I have thoroughly enjoyed watching Tamron Hall on NBC and regret her loss from my “Today” show. Yes, the show is part of my life and the hosts are friends of the family to me. I watch every day until it’s time to leave for work. It’s not the first time changes have upset me and most likely won’t be the last. I loved Meredith, Ann and Natalie and to this day I have not accepted Savannah. Our local station does not carry the Hoda-Kathie Lee hour but does run it late at night, so I occasionally catch a bit of that. I enjoy Jenna Bush Hager whenever she is on. Al is also a favorite. Now there is supposed to be a new person upsetting the apple cart so I’m already unhappy about that, not sure Megyn will be a good fit for my “Today” family.
Mary Williams
Something for the rest of us
Bayside: If tenants can have their rent frozen, why can’t home-owners have their property taxes frozen instead of raising ours every year? Diane Ranieri
No nukes
Brooklyn: Re “Anti-nuclear activists slam New York State move to transfer ‘decommissioning funds’ to energy companies” (Feb. 12): Both the inherent problematic characteristics of the nuclear power industry as a whole and the dubious nature of government bailouts frustrate and concern me. I am very unsettled by the state’s unwillingness to share the details of these agreements, particularly those carried out at the three power plants upstate. Under the Freedom of Information Law, the state is required to provide access to such agreements. Instead, misleading language and withheld information are serving to divert concerned New Yorkers from the truth. The notion of “zero-emission credit” is really an effective way to encourage people to make leaps of faith as to what is actually happening. Although it is true that nuclear power plants are nominally “zero-emission” they are by no means a sustainable alternative. Ultimately, nuclear power plants have no place in the future of sustainable energy in New York state. The potential benefits that they reap do not justify the tremendous hazards that they pose to the well-being of entire eco-systems and communities alike. Carola Dixon environmental campaign
project leader NYPIRG at Pratt Institute
Check mates
Getty Images Manhattan: NEST+m, a citywide gifted K-12 public school on the Lower East Side, has had incredible achievement with its chess team. NEST+m teams took home the first place trophies in both the primary and elementary New York City chess championships. This is the first time in more than 10 years that a single school has won both titles. More than 1,000 players participated in the tournament, which was held at the Marriott hotel in downtown Brooklyn on Feb. 5 and 6. NEST+m has won first place in the primary championship in 2014 and 2015, and first place in the elementary championship in 2016. Elina Cotler