The department store chain Nordstrom has decided to remove Ivanka Trump brand from its stores. The decision was based on the weak performance of the brand. However President Trump got involved in the case once again sparking discussions conflict of interest.

At the beginning of February the luxury department store Nordstrom (JWN  ) decided to remove from the Ivanka Trump brand from its stores. The company is run by the oldest daughter of the current President of the United States. This decision resulted from the poor sales of the products. Nordstrom emphasizes that its actions have nothing to do with politics.  The Wall Street Journal reports that the brand's sales result in 2016 were 32% lower than in the previous year. The department store chain carries about 1000 different brands and their sales results are summarized each year. 10% of the weakest selling brands are withdrawn from the stores. It just so happens that this year Ms. Trump brand was included in that group.

The company has been trying to remain neutral in the political world. In November, Nordstrom stated on Twitter that selling products of a particular brand should not be falsely perceived as a political stand. According to Nordstrom, it is the consumers who, on the basis of their beliefs, should decide whether to buy or not the products of a particular brand.

However, taking a stand by buying or boycotting certain products is a part of the #GrabYourWallet campaign. To protest against the political program of first the candidate and now the President Trump, the creators of the campaign are calling on people to boycott the companies supporting his actions. The list of such companies includes Moison Coors (TAP  ) and New Balance, the heads of which publicly supported the Republican candidate. When it was announced that Nordstrom would be dropping the Ivanka Trump brand, the creators of the #GrabYourWallet campaign called it their victory. However, as noted by the company's president Pete Nordstrom in an internal letter to employees, the company is not able to make everyone happy. No matter the decision, there'd still be a group of dissatisfied consumers. The supporters of Donald Trump have announced a boycott of the luxury department store chain, saying their decision was a political act opposing the president's decisions, which recently have stirred many strong emotions. 

Ivanka began creating her own brand in 2009 with the launch of a luxury jewelry line manufactured by Dynamic Diamonds. In 2011, she began selling high-end apparel. In the same year she started working with Marc Fisher Footwear Corp., the company that produces shoes by Ivanka Trump. A year later, the company G-III Apparel Group (GIII  ) acquired the rights to manufacture the Ivanka Trump brand's clothing. In 2016, sales of the brand's clothing and accessories jumped 21% and the number of stores that carry them grew from 800 in 2015 to 1000 at the end of last year. The company also plans on expanding their range of products. Under an agreement with A.D. Sutton,  you can buy Ivanka Trump baby bedding sets and accessories in Buy Buy Baby stores. Furthermore, Ms. Trump collaborated with The Jewelry Group to create a new fashion jewelry collection. Nordstrom was the first chain to sell the Ivanka Trump brand shoes, and Ms. Trump herself was present at the launch.

Some companies, like TJ Maxx (TJX  ), are limiting the exposure of the Ivanka Trump brand. The company's management board has sent a memo to all TJ Maxx and Marshalls (its sister company) stores instructing employees to, effective immediately, remove all of the separate displays of Ms. Trump brand's clothing, as well as the signs promoting the brand. The products were to be mixed up with other brands. The reason behind this decision was, again, poor sales, just as in the case of Sears (SHLD  ). The department store chain from Chicago announced the removal of the Ivanka Trump brand from its stores. However Ms. Trump's merchandise is still available at Sears' online store. Other retailers that dropped the Ivanka Trump brand include Burlington Coat Factory (BURL  ), Belk, ShopStyle, Wal-mart's Jet.com (WMT  ), Neiman Marcus and Shoes.com. On the other hand, those who are interested in buying Ms. Trump brand's apparel can do so on Zappos (owned by Amazon (AMZN  )), as well as in Bloomingdale's, Macy's (M  ), Lord & Taylor and Dillard's (DDS  ).

The situation was worsened by the President himself. On his private Twitter account (@realDonaldTrump) he criticized Nordstrom's decision, saying that it was harmful. At the same time he emphasized how incredible his daughter is. Many people found this statement to be an abuse of power. As a person in a public office, the President should not speak out in defense of his daughter's private business. In this case, any company carrying the Ivanka Trump brand, before deciding whether to drop it or not, will have to consider a risk of public criticism from the most important person in the country. However, according to Sean Spicer, White House Press Secretary, President Trump had every right to react that way as the tweet wasn't about the family's business but, as he stated, "an attack on his daughter".

"My daughter Ivanka has been treated so unfairly. She is a great person - always pushing me to do the right thing! Terrible!" - Donald Trump on his personal Twitter account

One of the President's adviser, Kellyanne Conway, also came in the defense of Ms. Trump. In an interview on Fox News (FOX  ) Conway praised Ivanka Trump's entrepreneurship activities and decided to use this opportunity to promote Ms. Trump's brand. As she has stated before, she's not the biggest fan of shopping, but she said that she'd go and buy some of Ivanka's apparel. She then went on encouraging the viewers to do the same, saying that they can buy the clothes online. Conway's comments drew sharp criticism not only from those opposing Trump, but also from the Republicans. According to the ethics rules from 1993, national officials are not allowed to endorse products for the private gain of friends or family. However, as noted in a joint letter to the director of the Office of Government Ethics written by congressmen Jason Chaffetz (Republican) and Elijah Cummings (Democrat), the conflict of interest concerns the most important official in the country who has to decide between punishing a subordinate employee and protecting his daughter's private company. The case ended with a rebuke. As Conway herself later stated, "President Trump supports me 100%".

"It's a wonderful line. I own some of it. I'm going to give a free commercial here. Go buy it today, everybody. You can find it online." - Kellyanne Conway in an interview for Fox News

"[The] plaintiff had the unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, as an extremely famous and well-known person, as well as a former professional model, brand spokesperson and successful businesswoman, to launch a broad-based commercial brand in multiple product categories, each of which could have garnered multimillion-dollar business relationships for a multi-year term during which plaintiff is one of the most photographed women in the world." - lawsuit filed by Melania Trump against the publisher of The Daily Mail

Besides Ivanka, Donald Trump also has a brand in his name. There were times when you could buy clothing, sunglasses, lamps, mirrors and mattresses all signed with the name of then-eccentric businessmen. Nowadays, however, the brand is struggling as its clothing is hard to find. This is due to the lack of new agreements. The last one was signed in March 2015, i.e. almost two years ago. The company Perfumania (PERF  ), which in 2012 released a fragrance for men called "Success By Trump" that was sold only in two Macy's department stores, signed another agreement in 2015 for a new scent called "Empire By Trump". However, just three months later Perfumania withdrew the scent due to Trump's harsh statements about Mexico. "They will all come back," he later stated. And he was right, but only about Perfumania, which brought back Trump's perfume when he became a major presidential contender. Nevertheless, companies such as PVH (PVH  ), which produces clothing for Calvin Klein or Tommy Hilfiger, and Serta decided to part ways with him.Melania Trump, the First Lady, also sees some opportunities related to that market. At least this is the conclusion from the lawsuit she filed in New York against the publisher of the British newspaper, The Daily Mail. According to the lawsuit, Melania Trump is looking to receive $150 million in damages for reporting false information that in the 1990s she worked as a high-end escort. One day later the newspaper published a correction, however the current First Lady of the United States argued that the article hurt her public image and lost her a chance for establishing a multimillion-dollar business. The product categories that she could have potentially release under her name included apparel, accessories, shoes, jewelry, cosmetics, hair care and fragrance.

The First Lady's arguements were based on the fact that nowadays she's one of the most photographed women on the planet. This again raises some questions regarding the use of public office functions for personal gains of the Trump family that can't separate their private lives from the public function of President Trump. A good example of this is the fact that on the day of the presidential inauguration, Trump's team added a biography of Melania Trump on the White House website, which included a link to the online store with her jewelry collection.

Sources