DOZENS OF COMPANIES have been thrust to the forefront of the political battle between President Donald Trump’s supporters and critics through a series of competing boycotts.
Trump’s critics have been urging customers to stop shopping at retailers that sell Trump family brands, including Ivanka Trump’s line of women’s clothing and accessories.
The anti-Trump boycott movement, launched by Shannon Coulter, has been branded with the hashtag #GrabYourWallet on social media.
Alternatively, Trump’s supporters have threatened to stop giving their business to companies that bow to the pressure and drop Trump products.
Here’s a list of the companies that have cut ties with the Trump family.
Uber CEO Travis Kalanick stepped down from Trump’s economic advisory board.
Uber had faced calls for an international boycott after it was accused of trying to profit off protests among taxi drivers against Trump’s executive order barring people from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the US.
In a memo to employees, Kalanick said he called the president to let him know he would step down.
“Joining the group was not meant to be an endorsement of the president or his agenda but unfortunately it has been misinterpreted to be exactly that,” Kalanick said.
Nordstrom said it stopped carrying Ivanka Trump’s brand because of declining sales.
“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.”
Nordstrom became one of the main targets of the anti-Trump boycotts after a shopper’s open letter to the retailer went viral in October. The letter called Ivanka Trump’s brand “toxic” and demanded Nordstrom stop selling it.
Macy’s stopped selling Donald Trump’s line of menswear — which includes suits, ties, and accessories — in 2015 after he referred to Mexican immigrants as “rapists”.
When Trump won the presidency, Macy’s CEO Terry Lundgren said the company would stand behind its decision.
“We made our decision about a year and a half ago and stand by our decision,” Lundgren told TheStreet’s Brian Sozzi in November.
Trump said in June 2015 that people coming into the US from Mexico were “bringing drugs”.
“They’re bringing crime,” he continued. “They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”
Macy’s released a statement at the time to explain its decision:
We welcome all customers, and respect for the dignity of all people is a cornerstone of our culture. We are disappointed and distressed by recent remarks about immigrants from Mexico … In light of statements made by Donald Trump, we have decided to discontinue our business relationship.
However, Macy’s still sells Ivanka Trump’s line of women’s clothing and accessories.
Neiman Marcus appears to have cut ties with Ivanka Trump’s fashion brand.
Fifteen products from Trump’s jewelry line were available on the retailer’s website as recently as the end of January.
Now, the products had disappeared.
Neiman Marcus did not immediately respond to multiple requests for comment on why Trump’s products were no longer available.
The Trump Home line is no longer available on HSN.
The company claims the decision was not politically motivated.
“While we don’t take a political position at HSN, we recognise that our employees, our partners and our customers will have wide-ranging views on politics and public policy,” Jill Kermes, the company’s head of corporate affairs, told BuzzFeed News. “That sometimes means people will have differences of opinion, but we welcome and encourage that diversity of thought.”
Shoes.com, a Canadian online shoe store, ditched Ivanka Trump’s shoe line in November.
The company said it was removing the Trump line in response to calls for a boycott against the brand.
“We understand and your voices have been heard,” the company said in a tweet, which was later deleted. “We have removed the products from our website.”
Shoes.com told Fast Company that the shoes weren’t selling well.
The US department store chain reportedly stopped Ivanka Trump’s lines of shoes and handbags last weekend.
“We continually review our assortment and the performance of the brands we carry. And we make adjustments as part of our normal course of business operations,” the company told Racked, who first reported the news.
Wayfair, which sells furniture and home decor, dropped Trump Home products — a Donald Trump brand — in November.
At the time, the company did not offer an explanation. Wayfair did not respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.
The home furnishings company Bellacor also dropped the Trump Home line in November.
The company was targeted by the #GrabYourWallet campaign last year. In mid-November, a customer said she received an email from Bellacor saying it had removed Trump products from its inventory.
Trump products are no longer available on the company’s website.
Bellacor did not respond to a request for comment on why the line was removed.
While Jet’s parent company, Walmart, continues to sell Ivanka’s shoe, apparel and handbag lines, Mic reported on Monday that merchandise such as Donald Trump’s Success fragrance or Ivanka Trump stilettos are no longer available on Jet’s website.
Jet did not respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.
As of Tuesday, customers could no longer purchase Ivanka Trump’s fashion line using the e-commerce site ShopStyle, which pulls results from other retailers.
“We do not hold inventory. When our major retail partners remove products from their site it is reflected on ShopStyle.com,” a company spokesperson told Business Insider in a statement.
“Similarly, corresponding to the decline in demand for Ivanka Trump products our retailers are seeing, we saw the same decrease in demand,” the statement continues. “We are therefore removing Ivanka Trump products from our database to allow higher performing products greater visibility on our platform.”
- Hayley Peterson and Kate Taylor, Business Insider
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