Trump Brand A Casualty As Administration Dawns?

The Trump brand could be suffering, even as the man himself settles into the Oval Office.

The New York Times reported that “major companies appear to be re-evaluating their relationships” with the brand itself. The fallout from the presidency has been one that has hurt sales, as Neiman Marcus has said it has cut the Ivanka Trump jewelry line from its website presence. Similarly, that brand had been taken down from Nordstrom.com.

One impetus to shrinking ties between corporate visibility and Trump’s brand has been the protests that, so far, have been a hallmark of the presidency. Some sites like GrabYourWallet.org, have featured campaigns looking to spotlight ties between firms, Trump and boycotts of the former.

NYT reported that the Trumps (that would be Donald and Ivanka) have abandoned their executive roles at the eponymous Trump organization, which extends across properties such as golf courses and hotels.

In an interview with NYT, Wendy Liebmann, chief executive of consultancy WSL Strategic Retail, said: “Retailers around the country are going to say, ‘Do we need the aggravation or not?’ It’s hard to imagine that, if a brand is really, really doing well, a retailer like a Nordstrom or Neiman Marcus would cut off their nose to spite their face.”