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Nordstrom stock defies Trump after cutting Ivanka’s line

President Trump took to Twitter and his senior adviser publicly endorsed Ivanka’s line after Nordstrom stopped carrying it.
Ivanka Trump on Donald: ‘Look, my father is very blunt’

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — If President Trump is trying to hurt Nordstrom, it appears he’s failed.

The company’s stock price has climbed more than 7% since Trump lashed out at the company on Twitter Wednesday morning, Feb. 8.

The president claimed his daughter, Ivanka, “has been treated so unfairly” by Nordstrom because the company decided last week to stop carrying clothes and accessories from her fashion label. The company has said it parted ways with the Ivanka Trump brand due to declining sales.

After the Twitter blast, Nordstrom stock dipped slightly before it began climbing — and Thursday it reached its highest point so far this month. The company’s stock price surpassed the $46 mark Thursday — compared to its Just before Trump posted the attack, Nordstrom’s stock price was at $42.65.

The boost has helped Nordstrom’s stock nearly recover all the losses its taken since the beginning of the year.

It’s a welcome boost for the retailer, considering Nordstrom — like many brick-and-mortar retailers — has been struggling against e-commerce giants like Amazon. Despite the surge and an August earnings report that beat Wall Street’s expectations, its stock is still down more than 9% over the last 12 months.

Eric Schiffer, CEO of the Patriarch Organization and Reputation Management Consultants, said Nordstrom’s decision to abandon a Trump brand could in fact boost its sales.

“The fact that they have cut ties with Ivanka will certainly inspire many of their female shoppers who are turned off by her advising someone they feel is taking them back to the 15th Century,” Schiffer said. Trump supports aren’t Nordstrom’s typical clientele — so their boycott threats won’t likely have a big impact, Schiffer said.

In an interview with FOX News on Thursday, one of Trump’s senior advisers prompted Americans to buy from Ivanka’s line.

“Go buy Ivanka’s stuff, is what I would tell you,” said Kellyanne Conway. “It’s a wonderful line. I own some of it. I fully — I’m going to just, I’m going to give a free commercial here: Go buy it today, everybody. You can find it online.”

Federal law says that public employees may not use their positions “for the endorsement of any product, service or enterprise, or for the private gain of friends, relatives, or persons with whom the employee is affiliated in a nongovernmental capacity.”

Larry Noble, the general counsel of the Campaign Legal Center, a nonpartisan organization of election law experts, said that in his opinion, Conway “may have violated the law.”

But Schiffer added that Trump could squash the company if he chooses.

“I don’t think that this whole Trump effect is over with,” Schiffer said. “The fact that [Nordstrom’s] stock is ramping does not mean that Trump no longer has the ability to create a brand bloodbath. If he wanted to focus in on Nordstrom, he could make their brains fall out.”

Schiffer said he doesn’t believe that’s likely to happen. Ethics concerns abound surrounding Trump’s tweet and the recent comments from his senior adviser Kellyanne Conway.

Schiffer suspects the outrage surrounding those moves will prompt Trump to back off.

Ivanka Trump is on a leave of absence from her company while she serves as one of her father’s top White House advisers.

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