Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2017 10:41:53 GMT -5
You've probably read the stories about stores declining to continue carrying Ivanka's brand, and Trump's outrage about it. And some are saying stores are hiding their Ivanka merchandise and more or less attempting to prevent people from buying it:
Well, OK.
As a New York city shopper: I don't know anyone who buys or ever bought Ivanka Trump merchandise; certainly none who actively sought it. I don't recall ever seeing it prominently marketed -- certainly not so I'd notice it. (I'm not saying no one bought it. But it wasn't ever a hot brand among anyone I know, or one I heard women gushing about. And I think my acquaintance is likely part of her target demographic.)
And as for the drastically reduced prices in the article -- well, take a spin through TJMaxx or a clearance department sometime. Those are the kind of reductions you see for items that didn't sell and they want to get rid of. Nothing unique about them at all. And you don't see specific signs directing you to brands in a clearance aisle or discount retailer. It's all jumbled, and always a hunt.
Here's what I think is going on:
The association of the Trump name, among many (I dare say most) well-heeled NYC women, is not of elegance, but of garish gold-plated vulgarity. (Not Ivanka's fault, actually -- from what I've seen, she dresses well. But her name, unfortunately, is associated with her dad and his hair.) Long before the election, I wouldn't be caught dead in something emblazoning the Trump name for exactly that reason. Seriously. If I happened to see a Trump-branded item I loved, I might consider buying it if the price were right -- but only if it did NOT display the name anywhere. And I'd be rather sheepish about admitting it was a Trump-branded item. Nothing to do with the election -- more with reality TV. I feel the same way about Kardashian brand merchandise. I don't want to be associated with that image. I'm not alone. Of course, the election has made it worse, but I still never considered it a prestige name to wear.
God knows, the competition is just ferocious in the women's clothing arena. If women pay a premium for a brand, they want to be able to brag about it. If a name is associated with The Apprentice, it tends not to be something elegant women are proud of. Maybe some women would be, but I'd venture to say few of them are well-heeled women in NYC.
So in my opinion? What's happening with Ivanka merchandise, at least in NYC, doesn't have much, if anything, to do with the election. I think it was happening already, and likely for the reason I cite. Stores are in the business to make money. They're not going to scuttle a profitable brand. They can't afford it (especially not in NYC, where the rents are astronomical and every penny of profit counts). I think Ivanka merchandise just wasn't selling well, period. Perhaps the election hastened them discounting it, but it was almost certainly happening already.
As for the alleged hostility or reluctance of salespeople to point out Ivanka merchandise -- yeah, I doubt it's a plot. It's likely more that it's a trifle unusual for a real shopper to go around aggressively hunting for signs for a particular designer. Especially in the wake of Trump's recent outraged tweets, which are national news, it had to seem weird. The salespeople almost certainly suspected something was going on beyond a woman just looking for a pair of shoes.
Thoughts?
(Btw, I lived for a while in a Trump building, way before this election. But I didn't move in because of Trump prestige -- quite the contrary. And it wasn't because of the quality (it was nice, but pretty cookie-cutter). I moved in because the building had just opened and the apartments were discounted. I got a much better bang for my buck in a brand new apartment. When the prices went up, I moved.
In any case, a rental apartment doesn't have the same personal connotations as an item of clothing. I can shrug and say "it was a good bang for the buck." Mind you, I'd do the same if I got, say, an Ivanka Trump dress at a deep discount. But I sure as hell wouldn't pay the premium price for it, and I wouldn't brag about the name. And that would have been true ten years ago.)
ETA:
of note: Ivanka's jewelry line was apparently already having issues in 2015:
After top Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway told the world on “Fox and Friends” to “go buy Ivanka’s stuff,” I decided to take her up on the challenge. On Friday afternoon, I set out to find an Ivanka Trump dress or handbag at six New York City retailers.
What first began as a quest to find Ivanka Trump garb quickly devolved into a perturbing and uncomfortable shopping experience. We all know shopping in the city can be draining, but this experience, in particular, forced me to deal with cagey salespeople and to claw around in a sea of messy clearance racks.
What first began as a quest to find Ivanka Trump garb quickly devolved into a perturbing and uncomfortable shopping experience. We all know shopping in the city can be draining, but this experience, in particular, forced me to deal with cagey salespeople and to claw around in a sea of messy clearance racks.
Well, OK.
As a New York city shopper: I don't know anyone who buys or ever bought Ivanka Trump merchandise; certainly none who actively sought it. I don't recall ever seeing it prominently marketed -- certainly not so I'd notice it. (I'm not saying no one bought it. But it wasn't ever a hot brand among anyone I know, or one I heard women gushing about. And I think my acquaintance is likely part of her target demographic.)
And as for the drastically reduced prices in the article -- well, take a spin through TJMaxx or a clearance department sometime. Those are the kind of reductions you see for items that didn't sell and they want to get rid of. Nothing unique about them at all. And you don't see specific signs directing you to brands in a clearance aisle or discount retailer. It's all jumbled, and always a hunt.
Here's what I think is going on:
The association of the Trump name, among many (I dare say most) well-heeled NYC women, is not of elegance, but of garish gold-plated vulgarity. (Not Ivanka's fault, actually -- from what I've seen, she dresses well. But her name, unfortunately, is associated with her dad and his hair.) Long before the election, I wouldn't be caught dead in something emblazoning the Trump name for exactly that reason. Seriously. If I happened to see a Trump-branded item I loved, I might consider buying it if the price were right -- but only if it did NOT display the name anywhere. And I'd be rather sheepish about admitting it was a Trump-branded item. Nothing to do with the election -- more with reality TV. I feel the same way about Kardashian brand merchandise. I don't want to be associated with that image. I'm not alone. Of course, the election has made it worse, but I still never considered it a prestige name to wear.
God knows, the competition is just ferocious in the women's clothing arena. If women pay a premium for a brand, they want to be able to brag about it. If a name is associated with The Apprentice, it tends not to be something elegant women are proud of. Maybe some women would be, but I'd venture to say few of them are well-heeled women in NYC.
So in my opinion? What's happening with Ivanka merchandise, at least in NYC, doesn't have much, if anything, to do with the election. I think it was happening already, and likely for the reason I cite. Stores are in the business to make money. They're not going to scuttle a profitable brand. They can't afford it (especially not in NYC, where the rents are astronomical and every penny of profit counts). I think Ivanka merchandise just wasn't selling well, period. Perhaps the election hastened them discounting it, but it was almost certainly happening already.
As for the alleged hostility or reluctance of salespeople to point out Ivanka merchandise -- yeah, I doubt it's a plot. It's likely more that it's a trifle unusual for a real shopper to go around aggressively hunting for signs for a particular designer. Especially in the wake of Trump's recent outraged tweets, which are national news, it had to seem weird. The salespeople almost certainly suspected something was going on beyond a woman just looking for a pair of shoes.
Thoughts?
(Btw, I lived for a while in a Trump building, way before this election. But I didn't move in because of Trump prestige -- quite the contrary. And it wasn't because of the quality (it was nice, but pretty cookie-cutter). I moved in because the building had just opened and the apartments were discounted. I got a much better bang for my buck in a brand new apartment. When the prices went up, I moved.
In any case, a rental apartment doesn't have the same personal connotations as an item of clothing. I can shrug and say "it was a good bang for the buck." Mind you, I'd do the same if I got, say, an Ivanka Trump dress at a deep discount. But I sure as hell wouldn't pay the premium price for it, and I wouldn't brag about the name. And that would have been true ten years ago.)
ETA:
of note: Ivanka's jewelry line was apparently already having issues in 2015:
A tipster reached out to us noting that Ivanka Trump's flagship store on Mercer Street appeared to be closed. "It only opened a couple years ago — how could they not make it in Soho?" the person noted. We passed by during regular business hours yesterday afternoon and found that 109 Mercer Street has indeed been stripped clean. It's unclear when the brand vacated, exactly.
