NEW YORK — President Donald Trump tweeted Wednesday that Nordstrom, which decided to stop selling Ivanka Trump's clothing and accessory line, treated his daughter "so unfairly." Nordstrom shares dropped after the tweet but later recovered.
The department store chain had said last week that it made the decision based on the brand's performance, and that each year it replenishes about 10 per cent of its supply with new products.
"My daughter Ivanka has been treated so unfairly by @Nordstrom. She is a great person — always pushing me to do the right thing! Terrible!" It was re-tweeted more than 6,000 times in less than an hour.
Nordstrom didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. In a statement Friday, Nordstrom had said it has more than 2,000 products on its website alone. "Reviewing their merit and making edits is part of the regular rhythm of our business."
Shares in the Seattle-based chain traded around $42.70 before the president's 10:50 a.m. tweet, then fell to $42.48 afterward in a flurry of trading. The shares recovered and were trading at $43.08 by early afternoon.
My daughter Ivanka has been treated so unfairly by @Nordstrom. She is a great person -- always pushing me to do the right thing! Terrible!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 8, 2017
It's not the first time Trump's tweets have at least temporarily affected a stock. U.S. automakers, Boeing and Carrier have also suffered after his comments on Twitter. But companies are clearly wrestling with a new dynamic.
"What we are seeing is that we are living in a world with a different kind of chief executive in the White House," said Matthew Shay, president and CEO of The National Retail Federation, the largest retail trade group, during a conference call with reporters Wednesday. "He has a strong opinion on issues. We are learning to work in the environment."
A social media campaign called "Grab Your Wallet" has urged a boycott of stores that stock Ivanka Trump or Donald Trump products.
Ivanka Trump has said she would take a leave of absence from her clothing and accessories business as well as the Trump organization. Rosemary K. Young, senior director of marketing at Ivanka Trump, said last week that the brand is expanding and saw "significant" revenue growth last year compared to the previous year.
