#baycott: Hudson's Bay under pressure to drop Ivanka Trump products
People push for boycott of store until brand dropped
Just days after U.S.-based luxury goods chain Nordstrom dropped the Ivanka Trump brand, consumers are pushing Toronto-based Hudson's Bay to make a similar move.
The Grab Your Wallet campaign is urging consumers to boycott Hudson's Bay and some of its subsidiaries, Lord & Taylor and Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5TH, for carrying the brand. Other retailers, including Macy's, Bloomingdale's, Amazon, and Bed, Bath & Beyond, are also on the movement's boycott list for carrying the Ivanka Trump line.
A search of the Hudson's Bay online store reveals it offers more than 350 items under the Ivanka Trump brand, including apparel, shoes and jewelry. They range in price from a top on sale for $25.60 to a gold and diamond bracelet going for $13,900.
On the Hudson's Bay Instagram account, many recent company postings have been met with numerous comments by people calling on the store to drop the brand. Some people also say they won't shop at the store until that happens, with some using the #baycott hastag.
"Supporting retailers where our values align, not HBC for now, #baycott," wrote one person.
On Twitter, some people tweeting with the #baycott hastag said they had cancelled orders with the retailer or deleted their apps.
In an email to CBC News, Hudson's Bay gave no direct indication if it would drop the Trump products.
"Across our banners, we aim to a deliver a strong assortment of fashion. We respect our customers' right to choose the brands that work for them. In turn, our customers' choices inform our decisions on which merchandise we offer," wrote corporate communications manager Brigitte Timmins,
Despite the push for the store to drop the brand, not everyone agreed with the call for a boycott.
"Are the people supporting #Baycott stupid? You are hurting [Canadian] workers/manufacturers when you boycott the whole store. #grabyourwallett," tweeted one person.
Even with the consumer pressure on retailers, it may come down to a question of dollars and cents.
Nordstrom cited the performance of the brand for its decision to drop it. The company said sales were down, particularly in the last half of 2016, "to the point where it didn't make good business sense for us to continue with the line for now."
U.S. business news outlet CNBC, citing an analysis by Slice Intelligence based on a panel of 4.4 million consumers, reported that Nordstrom's sales of the Trump brand fell 63 per cent year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2016.
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A day after Nordstrom said it was dropping the brand, U.S. President Donald Trump, Ivanka's father, tweeted his displeasure.
My daughter Ivanka has been treated so unfairly by <a href="https://twitter.com/Nordstrom">@Nordstrom</a>. She is a great person -- always pushing me to do the right thing! Terrible!
—@realDonaldTrumpThe company's stock price fell initially after the president's tweet, but it has since regained what it lost, and more.
Companies with links to Donald Trump have come under the spotlight since his election.
Earlier this week, the head of Ottawa-based Shopify defended the e-commerce company's decision to continue hosting an online store for the extreme right-wing U.S. media organization Breitbart News. Tobi Lütke said he has received more than 10,000 emails, tweets and messages urging him to drop Breitbart from Shopify's list of clients.
Breitbart News has emerged as a powerful voice for the U.S. alt-right movement and has been accused by its detractors of propagating white supremacist, anti-Semitic and misogynistic views. Steve Bannon, President Trump's chief strategist, was previously Breitbart's executive chair.
With files from The Associated Press