In an unexpected move, Ivanka Trump says she will shutter clothing brand
WASHINGTON — Ivanka Trump said she is shutting down her namesake clothing brand because of her focus on her work in Washington.
The president’s daughter and White House senior adviser said her “focus for the foreseeable future will be the work I am doing here in Washington” and called the company’s closure “the only fair outcome for my team and partners.” Trump handed over dayto-day operations after her father won the election, but continued to own the company — which raised ethical concerns, experts said.
The company, based in New York’s Trump Tower, had been dropped by retailers such as Nordstrom due to flagging sales. Its dresses, shoes and handbags — all of which were made in foreign countries such as China and Indonesia — also conflicted with her push for more jobs in the United States.
The closure comes as a surprise even within the company, which has 18 employees. As recently as last week, officials had been discussing the implementation of long-delayed oversight of its foreign factory partners.
Company chief Abigail Klem said last year she had been planning her first trip to tour some of the facilities that make Ivanka Trump products, and she said the company would boost oversight of the treatment of its largely female workforce.
Trump’s brand of affordable fashion for young, professional women became a polarizing political statement, bought in solidarity by Trump supporters and boycotted vigorously by others.
“Views on the brand have become highly polarized, and it has become a lightning rod for protests and boycotts,” said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail.
Trump will retain the copyrights and intellectual property associated with her brand, which analysts say leaves the door open for future relaunches.
A number of national retailers, including Lord and Taylor, Dillards, Bloomingdales and Amazon.com currently carry the first daughter’s line and will continue to do so until their agreements run out.
In December, Trump opened a store in the lobby of Manhattan’s Trump Tower, where, she said, she hoped to sell handbags, jewelry and candles, raising concerns among some ethics experts, who said it was yet another way for the Trump family to tap into the wallets of supporters.
Ethics experts said the arrangement continued to raise a number of red flags a year and a half into the Trump presidency.
“Shutting down now is too little, too late,” said Norman Eisen, who served as chief White House ethics lawyer under President Barack Obama. “She maintains a number of other business ties, including her trademarks in China, making this a profoundly conflicted role.”