Ivanka Trump is closing the doors of her eponymous clothing brand.
The Wall Street Journal first reported that Trump was shutting her company after four years of operation. The first daughter had separated from the brand last year to take up a senior advisory role in the White House after her father was elected president.
“After 17 months in Washington, I do not know when or if I will ever return to the business," Ivanka Trump said in a public statement. "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."
The BBC reported that 36-year-old earned more than $5 million from her clothing brand, which was founded in 2014 and sold dresses, shoes and accessories. The company’s 18 staff members were informed of the business closing on Tuesday.
Good as Gold: Ivanka Trump shows her new jewelry collection at the Trump Taj Mahal in October 2007 in Atlantic City. (Photo by Nick Valinote/FilmMagic)
While her brand performed well in the run-up to the election, her father's presidency has been credited with declining sales. Last year, the Ivanka Trump line was cut from Nordstrom after sales declined 32%. The fashion entrepreneur then opened a store in Trump Tower in New York at the end of last year—the label’s first foray into brick-and-mortar. Trump previously opened a jewelry boutique on the Upper East Side in 2007 and a luxury store in downtown Beijing, both of which were closed down, according to Bloomberg.
The Shoe Drops: Ivanka Trump brand high heels in the clearance section at the Century 21 department store in February 2017 after declining sales.(Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images
The businesswoman came under fire in 2016 for copying the design of a popular Aquazzura sandal worth $785, the most public among other accusations from designers such as Derek Lam, who sent Trump a cease-and-desist letter in late 2011 for copying his Cadie wedge sandals. The Derek Lam shoes sold for $780, while Ivanka Trump’s version was priced at $150.
Since joining her father at the White House in 2017, Trump also faced backlash for retaining ownership of her company in tandem with her political duties. Now, presumably, she has solved that perceived conflict of interest.