Update: In a memo obtained by The New York Times, last Wednesday employees of T.J. Maxx and Marshalls were instructed to remove Ivanka Trump clothing and accessories from featured sections, and to throw away any Ivanka Trump branded signs.
The note explicitly stated: “Effective immediately, please remove all Ivanka Trump merchandise from features and mix into the runs.”
Doreen Thompson, a spokesperson for the TJX Companies, responded to the decision in an email to the Times.
WATCH: Trump’s Nordstrom tweets are ‘abuse of power’, says watchdog
“The communication was intended to instruct stores to mix this line of merchandise into our racks, not to remove it from the sales floor,” she wrote. “We offer a rapidly changing selection of merchandise for our customers, and brands are featured based on a number of factors.”
The list of retailers dropping the Ivanka Trump brand from their shelves, both real and virtual, continues to grow. The Home Shopping Network (HSN) and online search engine ShopStyle are the latest companies to dissociate from the first daughter’s line.
Today, U.S. President Donald Trump took to his favourite outlet — Twitter — to decry these decisions, taking aim at Nordstrom.
The retail giant announced it would no longer carry the Ivanka Trump brand on Feb. 3.
Although most of the retailers have cited declining sales as the reason for dropping the brand, and avoided delving into political rhetoric, HSN provided a nonpartisan yet liberal-leaning statement to Mic.
READ MORE: Ivanka Trump’s fashion line boycotted with #GrabYourWallet campaign
“At HSN we are nonpartisan and our product decisions are based solely on a continual evaluation related to our business,” the company said via email. “While we don’t take a political position at HSN, we recognize that our employees, our partners and our customers will have wide-ranging views on politics and public policy. That sometimes means people will have differences of opinion, but we welcome and encourage that diversity of thought.”
Shannon Coulter, founder of the #GrabYourWallet campaign that was launched in October in an attempt to boycott Trump products after the president’s scandalous Access Hollywood recording came to light, has said that both retailers will be taken off the campaign’s boycott list.
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In addition, online giant Jet.com, which was purchased by Walmart in August, has quietly been pulling Ivanka Trump clothing and fragrances from its site. Coulter says that it too will be taken off the boycott list.
“We vote with our cash,” Coulter said to Mic. “We’ll continue voting this way every day in favour of a more respectful, inclusive society.”
These retailers join a growing list of companies that have stopped carrying the Ivanka Trump brand, including Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom. Both stores have cited poor sales for their decision, however an internal memo circulated to Nordstrom employees days before the announcement indicates that the travel ban imposed by the Trump administration was a factor in their decision.
“We currently employ more than 76,000 people who comprise different races, ethnicities and genders,” the statement read. “We literally have thousands of employees who are first- and second-generation immigrants. Every one of your unique qualities brings a richness that allows us to better reflect and serve the multicultured communities we’re a part of and ultimately makes us a better company.”
WATCH: Ivanka Trump lines pulled from stores
Company presidents Peter, Erik and Blake Nordstrom ended the memo with the following statement: “We will continue to value diversity, inclusion, respect, and kindness … you can count on that.”
Recently, Canadians have virtually called out to The Hudson’s Bay Company to drop Ivanka Trump for their brand offerings, and have started a #baycott campaign on Twitter.
Canadian online retailer Shoes.com dropped the Ivanka Trump brand in November as #GrabYourWallet was picking up steam, and stated: “We understand and your voices have been heard. We have removed the products from our website.”
Global News has reached out to The Bay for comment.
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