Advertisement

Ivanka Trump to close namesake fashion brand

By Sommer Brokaw
Ivanka Trump, adviser and daughter of President Donald Trump, says she will focus on her work in Washington, D.C., for the foreseeable future. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI
1 of 3 | Ivanka Trump, adviser and daughter of President Donald Trump, says she will focus on her work in Washington, D.C., for the foreseeable future. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo

July 24 (UPI) -- White House adviser and presidential daughter Ivanka Trump said Tuesday she is shutting down her namesake fashion brand.

Company president Abigail Klem informed the brand's 18 employees Tuesday that it would close. Trump said in a statement that she may never re-enter the retail industry.

Advertisement

"After 17 months in Washington, I do not know when or if I will ever return to the business, but I do know that my focus for the foreseeable future will be the work I am doing here in Washington," Trump told The Wall Street Journal. "So making this decision now is the only fair outcome for my team and partners."

Some licensing agreements will not be renewed but will "run their course," a company representative told CNBC, which means some items can still be purchased from retailers until they're out of stock.

The Ivanka Trump clothing brand has endured sales volatility since Trump's father, President Donald Trump, announced his candidacy in 2015. Sales for the brand, which launched in 2014, rose during the 2016 presidential election, the Journal reported. However, news of Donald Trump's vulgar comments about women captured on video opened the clothing line to anti-Trump economic boycott Grab Your Wallet.

Advertisement

After her father's election, Ivanka Trump left the company's management team to become a White House senior adviser. She also put her company in a family trust, IT Collection LLC. But she did not sell her company assets, which allowed for lingering concerns about possible conflicts of interest.

The brand has continued to suffer since Donald Trump took office. A Canadian-based company, Hudson Bay, which also owns Sax Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor, notified the brand last year it would phase out her line at its stores, citing slow sales, Bloomberg reported. Nordstrom dropped the apparel line early last year, also citing poor sales.

After Nordstrom dropped the line, ethics watchdogs criticized White House adviser Kellyanne Conway for telling TV viewers to "go buy Ivanka's stuff."

Latest Headlines