Sears Holdings adds to Trump defections

The Trump brand at retail has taken another hit.



Sears and Kmart this week removed 31 Trump Home items from their e-commerce sites, Reuters reported, to focus on more profitable products. Neither Sears nor Kmart carried the products in their brick-and-mortar stores.However, the retailer noted that hundreds of the items are still available on its website through third-party sellers.



In a statement that echoed Nordstrom’s explanation last week of why it was discontinuing the Ivanka Trump line, spokesman Brian Hanover told Reuters that, as part of the company's initiative to optimize its online product assortment, “we constantly refine that assortment to focus on our most profitable items.”



The Trump Home collection includes lines of furniture, lighting, bedding, mirrors and chandeliers, with some of the products from companies that supply the items to Trump hotels.



In related news, The Wall Street Journal reported that sales of the Ivanka Trump brand had dropped sharply before the retailer discontinued the brand this week.



The report, which cited internal data, reported sales of Ivanka Trump-branded clothing and shoes had dropped more than 70% in the second, third and fourth week of October compared with the year-ago period.



Another department store retailer, Belk issued a statement that it is no longer selling Ivanka Trump-branded merchandise online. But it continues to sell the items in its stores.