Ivanka Trump Collection has arguably become a bigger topic of conversation since Ivanka Trump left the company in January. This is thanks, in part, to an ethics-breaching endorsement from Kellyanne Conway that went viral and the back-and-forth between the First Daughter's namesake brand and its stockists. Because Ivanka Trump Collection doesn't release sales figures, though, it's hard to know how the company is truly faring since its founder cut all official ties. A new report from Lyst, however, suggests that in February, at least, there was more interest in Ivanka Trump Collection than ever before.
The search engine observed that in February 2017, Ivanka Trump Collection ranked 11th in its top brands by individual order count. According to Racked, the most-shopped brands on Lyst that same month consisted of a mix of high-street, fast-fashion, and sportswear, with the likes of Missguided, ASOS, Nike, Boohoo, Adidas, and River Island all represented. So, Ivanka Trump stands out in terms of aesthetics, clientele, and price point already — then, you consider the fact that the month prior, the brand was #550 on the same list. In 2016, it ranked #487.
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Between January and February this year, Ivanka Trump Collection saw a 346% boost, in terms of how many people shopped the brand on Lyst. Compared to February 2016, the final tally was a 557% increase from the same month last year. Normally, the best-selling items for Ivanka Trump Collection are heels, followed by dresses, according to a representative for Lyst. However, last month, the website saw other category the brand serves — flats, pants, coats, knitwear, and tops — sell much better than they had historically on its platform. If Ivanka Trump Collection keeps up this sell rate, Lyst predicts it would be on target to have higher sales than normal, but it notes that it would only put the brand about 8% higher than where it was in January.
While the brand doesn't release sales figures, Abigail Klem, Ivanka Trump Collection's current president, asserts that profits are solid, despite reports that retailers like Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus were dropping the line due to a decline in interest. "Since the beginning of February, they were some of the best performing weeks in the history of the brand," she told Refinery29. "For several different retailers Ivanka Trump was a top performer online, and in some of the categories it was the [brand’s] best performance ever."
However, the spokesperson for Lyst noted that despite having had a big February, "it's fair to say the surge is not long lasting." The platform historically observes engagement tied to current events: For instance, before the presidential election, Lyst noted a 460% increase in searches for pantsuits, which it speculated was related to Hillary Clinton. Because Ivanka Trump and her now-unaffiliated brand were widely reported on last month, that could have very well led people to seek out its products online. Plus, after news and tweets broke that some department stores would no longer sell the line (and as a response to the popular #GrabYourWallet protest), groups of Trump supporters pledged to continue to shop the First Daughter's brand elsewhere, Business Insider reported. Now that the dust has seemingly settled — at least for now — will Ivanka Trump Collection follow up the flurry of media coverage with another successful month? That much is to be seen.