Chapter 2: Analyzing the External Environment


In the past few months, the political realm seems to have found a source into all topics and conversations. Particularly, Nordstrom has been in the news revolving just that. Nordstrom's recent decisions to pull the line "Ivanka Trump" has sparked attention from news sources across the board. Nordstrom claims that the dropping of the line has to do with sales, not politics. Nordstrom has chosen to analyze the changes in sales and act appropriately in order to keep profitability and growth steady. Although some could see this is a disadvantage to Nordstrom, I think this has been an overall advantage to Nordstrom as a company. The majority of the public are paying close attention to Trump's decisions. Nordstrom is now amongst many other brands that have decided to pull Trump owned products from their stores. People feel strongly about supporting companies and stores globally that are taking a stance on his opinions and actions. Not only to existing customers, but also to potential customers, Nordstrom is being talked about everywhere, gaining attention and sales to follow. Regardless of the motives for the halt on the brand, Nordstrom has found its way into the media light. As many companies have been using this presidential election to gain attention, Nordstrom is joining the bandwagon and will continue to benefit from their choice to discontinue the Ivanka Trump line through the forces of the external environment.