Sears Holdings pushed back Monday against reports it had joined retailers dumping merchandise carrying the Trump name.
Last week, Sears removed 31 Trump Home items from the Sears and Kmart online stores. But customers still can find Trump Home and Ivanka Trump merchandise on the stores’ websites, sold by third-party companies using Sears’ marketplace, spokesman Chris Brathwaite wrote in a blog post on Sears’ corporate website Monday.
The products Sears carried — including Trump Home lamps and "Inspired by Trump" motivational posters — were never sold in stores.
With Trump critics calling for boycotts of retailers that carry products tied to the first family and Trump fans urging boycotts of companies that dump the lines, some retailers have been cautiously rethinking their approach to the Trump family brands.
President Donald Trump lashed out at Nordstrom in a tweet last week after the retailer said it decided to stop carrying his daughter Ivanka Trump’s clothing line. Separately, T.J. Maxx instructed stores to mix Ivanka Trump apparel into its racks rather than displaying it with branded signs.
Like Nordstrom, Sears said its decision was business, not politics.
Sears regularly tinkers with its product mix, culling items that don’t sell well, are unsafe or inappropriate, while letting third-party merchants offer a wider selection of merchandise, Brathwaite wrote.
"For those who have contacted us on this issue, we hope this clears up any confusion. I think any fair observer can understand why this confusion was generated and why we prefer to remain focused on serving our members and our marketplace sellers and leave the politics to others," he wrote.
The hands-off approach means there’s more than branded Trump goods in Sears’ marketplace. Alongside Trump Home products are items unaffiliated with the brand, including a life-size Donald Trump cardboard cutout, framed inauguration day photos and novelty "Dump Trump" toilet paper.
lzumbach@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @laurenzumbach
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