In the wake of President Donald Trump’s Twitter attack on Nordstrom, shares for the retailer actually rose 4.1 percent Wednesday.
Trump took Nordstrom to task on Twitter earlier in the day over its decision to drop his daughter Ivanka Trump’s clothing line.
“My daughter Ivanka has been treated so unfairly by @Nordstrom. She is a great person — always pushing me to do the right thing! Terrible!” he said.
Shortly after, shares of Nordstrom fell .07 percent, but quickly recovered and closed 4.1 percent higher at $44.53 per share on the New York Stock Exchange.
Nordstrom Inc. also fired back Wednesday, defending its decision to drop Ivanka Trump’s branded merchandise from its stores and online, saying it was based on the brand’s performance.
“Over the past year, and particularly in the last half of 2016, sales of the brand have steadily declined to the point where it didn’t make good business sense for us to continue with the line for now,” the retailer told Reuters.
Nordstrom said it informed Ivanka Trump about its decision in early January.
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer defended Trump’s tweet during a press briefing later Wednesday, saying Nordstrom’s decision was a politically motivated attack.
“I think this was less about his family’s business than an attack on his daughter,” Spicer said. “For someone to take out their concern with his policies on a family member of his is just not acceptable. And the president has every right as a father to stand up to them.”
Trump’s comments underscore the complicated relationship that the wealthy entrepreneur-turned-politician has with his sprawling family business interests amid criticism from Democrats and others about the ethics and legality of the arrangement.
– With Reuters
