Ivanka Trump’s Brand Gets Bigger

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While Ivanka Trump (the person) has come under new scrutiny for reportedly using a personal email account to conduct government business, Ivanka Trump (the brand) is only expanding its footprint. As of this week, customers can now buy products directly from the brand’s website.

For now, the site is only selling handbags. This follows the news that the brand will open its first full-fledged store this fall — inside New York City’s Trump Tower.

Earlier this year, companies like Nordstrom, Belk, and Burlington stopped carrying Ivanka Trump online, in stores, or both. They blamed weak sales or gave vague product assortment-related reasons, although a very public boycott likely had something to do with it. Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s, Lord & Taylor, Dillard’s, Zappos, and Amazon still carry the line.

Brand president Abigail Klem has said the Ivanka Trump label saw “some of the best performing weeks in the history of the brand” since January, but it makes sense it would want to have more control over its distribution, especially as the brand faces ongoing criticism. For more than a year, reporters have been uncovering dismal labor conditions at some of the factories that make both its shoes and clothing. Just yesterday, the Associated Press reported it may have found ties between the company and a Chinese government-owned export company, with former White House ethics lawyer Richard Painter remarking that the company is “putting our trade policy in a very awkward situation.”