Dive Brief:

• An employee in DSW's vendor relations and inventory control operations told a California customer in an email that the shoe retailer has ceased buying shoes from Ivanka Trump's label, according to Racked, which says it viewed the message.

• The brand itself denies that, according to the report. Representatives for the brand and DSW did not immediately return Retail Dive's requests for comment.

• Last year a slew of retailers, including Nordstrom, Belk and TJ Maxx, quietly pulled back on selling the first daughter's brand, while the anti-Trump boycott organizer Grab Your Wallet monitored which were selling or dropping it.

Dive Insight:

Perhaps the most interesting thing about DSW reportedly dropping the brand is that it comes so long after other retailers took action. The many Trump brands became lightning rods for controversy and prime targets of the #GrabYourWallet boycott shortly after President Donald Trump's inauguration.

Ivanka Trump, who seemed for a time to be able to craft an image separate from her father, has been less able to do so as a key player in his administration. Last year she stepped down from her company, which nevertheless hasn't escaped problems stemming from the controversy.

In December the Ivanka Trump apparel brand opened a new brick-and-mortar location in Trump Tower, presumably a more friendly spot, although the store opened amid evidence that the Trump brand, including Ivanka's, is suffering globally. 

The firestorm was only stoked further in February last year when the president tweeted that his daughter's company was being unfairly targeted by Nordstrom, which cited poor sales for dropping the brand.

Other retailers tried to find a political sweet spot amid the controversy. Regional department store Belk posted a statement as news swirled that Ivanka Trump merchandise, while no longer sold on the website, would be featured in stores. And off-price retailer TJ Maxx reportedly mixed Ivanka Trump goods in with other apparel, pulling signs and dedicated racks from the floor. Macy's was also under pressure to dump the first daughter's brand. 

In Nordstrom's case, the comments about the line's performance are bolstered by third-party data. Analytics firm Jumpshot tracked web traffic to Ivanka Trump products on Macy's and Nordstrom since Jan. 1, 2016, and found that while traffic to Ivanka Trump products on Nordstrom was much higher than on Macy's between April 2016 and September 2016, traffic on Macy's had exceeded Nordstrom since October. While Macy's and Nordstrom both saw a spike in November, traffic to Ivanka Trump pages decreased on Nordstrom by about 14% in December 2016 and January 2017, and increased on Macy's by about 18%.

It is not clear whether DSW's reported removal of the brand is due to similar circumstances or if it is unconnected.