Just one day after receiving heavy criticism for manufacturing her clothing, footwear and other branded products in China, First Daughter Ivanka Trump announced she is shutting down her clothing line.
While the company made a reported $47.3 million in clothing sales in 2016, company sources said only 18 people in the United States are affected by the shutdown.
The brand floundered after the election, whereas it initially saw a surge in sales due to frequent free media exposure. Trump campaigned for her father wearing and bringing attention to Ivanka Trump branded products during high-profile speeches and interviews.
After the election, her decision to retain ownership of the brand while working in the White House raised further ethics issues. Watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) charged the entire first family with profiting from the presidency, but especially the First Daughter for promoting her apparel in her official capacity as a White House staffer.
But according to many analysts, the ethics violations were not the death knell for the now struggling company.
After the Access Hollywood tape of then candidate Trump became public knowledge, activists targeted all Trump products. In the now infamous tape, Trump Sr. talks about grabbing and kissing women without asking permission and uttered the line "grab 'em by the pussy."
But as the Presidential candidate's comments described repeated sexual assaults on women, women organized much of the boycotts. Thus the #GrabYourWallet hashtag and movement emerged.
According to their website information, "#GrabYourWallet movement began in the wake of the release of the Access Hollywood tape when two women simultaneously realized they could no longer in good conscience do business with companies doing business with the Trump family. Never having met, Shannon Coulter and Sue Atencio joined forces on October 11, 2016 and announced on Twitter they'd be boycotting any retailer that carried Trump products."
Today, Coulter cited victory on Twitter in the wake of the Ivanka Trump clothing announcement. In a series of tweets, Coulter outlined the progress made since 2016.
Coulter concluded her comments by stating, "This is people power at work. This is you using your voices and your hard earned money to push back on extremism."
This is you saying no to the hate that the Trump administration embodies. You are #GrabYourWallet and this is your win."
Then she added one last little tweet.
People online celebrated with Coulter through Twitter comments of their own.
Some people shared how they helped the boycott along.
For some retailers, their decision to drop Ivanka Trump products gained ridicule from Trump supporters who promised their own massive boycotts while also vowing to buy Ivanka Trump merchandise in record numbers. They failed to deliver on both promises.
For companies that kept Ivanka Trump on their hangers and shelves, people still vow to continue to boycott them for their choices.
The reason for the brand shutdown, however, according to the President's eldest daughter, involves her future plans, not falling profits and being dropped by retailers in the United States and Canada.
"When we first started this brand, no one could have predicted the success that we would achieve," she said in a statement.
"After 17 months in Washington, I do not know when or if I will ever return to the business, but I do know that my focus for the foreseeable future will be the work I am doing here in Washington, so making this decision now is the only fair outcome for my team and partners."
Trump and her husband Jared Kushner serve as senior advisers to her father, President Donald Trump. She will address her company's staff in New York, Tuesday.
