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In the era of President Trump, Ivanka's brand has been on a rollercoaster.
The Ivanka Trump brand's been a slow but steady success since its start in 2007, debuting with jewelry, then clothing, shoes, accessories, and home goods, and eventually a full-on lifestyle brand pushing the hashtag #WomenWhoWork. The apparel found success with mainstream retailers like Lord & Taylor, Macy's, and Nordstrom with supposedly booming numbers ("this at a minimum is going to be a $100 million brand for us," the CEO of G-III, which manufactures and licenses Ivanka's brand, said in 2015), albeit with hiccups along the way — a trademark lawsuit over copying shoe designs and a scarf recall over "flammability" problems come to mind.
But that negative press pales in comparison to the scrutiny the brand's received since Donald Trump became president. His many offensive statements and positions — most notably, the sexist comments caught on an "Access Hollywood" hot mic that came to light in October 2016 — had shoppers accusing Ivanka of being complicit, and anti-Trump shoppers started a boycott campaign under the banner #GrabYourWallet. After several months, there seemed to be an impact, as Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and several other retailers backed away from the Ivanka Trump brand to varying degrees.
Ivanka's also been scrutinized for her connection to her businesses as she's taken on a role in the White House. As one senator put it as recently as November 2017, "What is not allowed is for anyone to profit off holding a public position. We should have full disclosure of all her financial interests, and when you don’t have that, it raises serious questions." Those full disclosures haven't come. That didn't stop Kellyanne Conway, counselor to the president, literally promoted the brand on TV in an official interview back in February (behavior that pretty clearly violates regulations).
And it hasn't stopped the brand from expanding, debuting ecommerce in September 2017 and opening a store in December 2017 — in Trump Tower. The line between the political and the profit-driven has never been blurrier.