Nordstrom Officially Dumps Ivanka Trump’s Brand
Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Business News Ivanka Trump
Business Insider reported that Nordstrom representatives confirmed they have cut ties with Ivanka Trump’s brand. Per the BI report:
“Each year we cut about 10% [of brands carried] and refresh our assortment with about the same amount,” a Nordstrom representative told Business Insider. “In this case, based on the brand’s performance we’ve decided not to buy it for this season.”
Shannon Coulter, a brand strategist, started the #GrabYourWallet protest in October, which takes aim at Trump’s bottom line. It picked up steam after an attorney from northern California wrote an open letter to Nordstrom that went viral on Twitter.
An open letter to @Nordstrom regarding Ivanka Trump’s toxic brand. Please share if you agree. #grabyourwalletspic.twitter.com/xoayf3kOVF
— Laura (@SheWhoVotes) October 26, 2016
Per The Wrap in a story written a week after this tweet surfaced:
As of Monday, #GrabYourWallet has garnered nearly 119 million impressions on Twitter, according to Retweet Rank. That number includes retweets from high-profile celebrities like Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Ben Cohen, writer Joyce Carol Oates, Valerie Bertinelli, Lucy Lawless and Oscar nominee Don Cheadle.
Nordstrom isn’t the only target of the #GrabYourWallet boycott, as anyone carrying Ivanka Trump’s brand is in the crosshairs, and as we speak, another industry titan may follow Nordstrom’s lead.
Neiman Marcus hasn’t made a formal announcement as of this writing, but you cannot find Ivanka Trump’s merchandise on their site anymore. Remember the quote from Nordstrom to BI?
“based on the brand’s performance”
It only took 100 days for Nordstrom to bow to this demand. If you had any doubts as to whether protest still works in the age of Trump—a hashtag combined with real action just forced the hand of one of the most powerful corporations in the world, and it seems as if others soon may follow. Keep pressing on, folks. Our power lies in our sheer numbers, as good quite literally outweighs evil in this war for America’s future.
Jacob Weindling is Paste’s business and media editor, as well as a staff writer for politics. Follow him on Twitter at @Jakeweindling.