魚和熊掌不可兼得 伊萬卡時尚品牌關閉
自從老爸特朗普當選美國總統後，伊萬卡的服裝生意就陷入低谷，頻頻傳出業績下滑的消息但均被否認。在擔任白宮高級顧問一年多後，伊萬卡終於宣佈解散服裝公司，告別時尚產業。
President Donald Trump's daughter, Ivanka Trump, has decided to close down her fashion brand. The move comes over a year after she split from the company to enter the White House as a senior adviser.
在離開公司進入白宮擔任高級顧問一年多後，美國總統特朗普的女兒伊萬卡終於決定關閉自有時尚品牌。
最先報道這一消息的是《紐約郵報》：
The New York Post first reported on Tuesday that the company will be closing “ASAP” and that staff have been informed that they are being laid off. “It’s just never recovered since she stepped away from the company,” an insider told the Post’s Page Six.
《紐約郵報》24日首先報道稱，伊萬卡公司將盡快關閉，也已經向職員發出瞭解聘通知。一名內部人士告訴《紐約郵報》八卦版“第六頁”說：“自從伊萬卡離開公司後，生意就一直沒有好轉。”
衆所周知，伊萬卡天生麗質且衣品出衆，一直走在時尚的最前沿，但如今她也有out of fashion的時候。
Ms Trump launched the brand in 2014, but after her father's election was faced with boycotts from shoppers.
伊萬卡於2014年創立了該品牌，但自從父親特朗普當選後，旗下品牌便受到消費者的抵制。
Ms Trump had reportedly become frustrated by the difficulties posed by avoiding possible conflicts of interest while serving in the White House.
據報道，伊萬卡在白宮入職後就一直努力避免從政和從商二者間的利益衝突，並因爲困難重重而倍感沮喪。
Ivanka Trump announced the closure of her namesake clothing, footwear and accessories brand, which had become a target of opponents of her father President Donald Trump, on July 24, 2018. After experiencing a sharp rise in sales in 2016, the brand suffered a backlash after her father took office, and has been dropped by several retail chains. [Photo/VCG] A spokesperson for the company said the decision "has nothing to do with the performance of the brand and is based solely on Ivanka's decision to remain in Washington indefinitely."
伊萬卡公司的一名發言人稱，這一決定“與品牌的業績無關，純粹是考慮到伊萬卡未來若干年都決定留在華盛頓。”
After 17 months in her White House role Ms Trump said she did not know "when or if I will ever return to the business".
在擔任白宮顧問長達17個月後，伊萬卡表示自己不知道“什麼時候或是否會重返時尚產業”。
"But I do know that my focus for the foreseeable future will be the work I am doing here in Washington, so making this decision now is the only fair outcome for my team and partners," Ivanka Trump said in a statement.
伊萬卡在一份聲明中說：“不過我知道，在可預見的未來，我的工作重心將會在華盛頓，所以現在做出這個決定對我的團隊和合作夥伴是唯一公平的結果。”
According to NBC News, Ms Trump met personally with her 18-person staff at Trump Tower in New York City after the company's closure was announced to employees.
根據NBC新聞的報道，在發出公司關閉的通知後，伊萬卡在紐約市特朗普大廈親自會見了公司的18人團隊。
Merchandise sits on the shelves inside a closed Ivanka Trump Store in the lobby of Trump Tower, July 24, 2018 in New York City. [Photo/VCG] 雖然伊萬卡堅稱關閉公司是爲從政考慮，但其實公司本身早已舉步維艱。
The brand had already been dropped by several retailers such as the Nordstrom chain and - just last week - Canada's largest department store chain Hudson's Bay.
該品牌已經被諾德斯特龍連鎖百貨等數家零售商拋棄，就在上週，加拿大最大連鎖百貨公司哈德遜灣也和伊萬卡解除了合同。
Both companies blamed poor sales for their decision.
諾德斯特龍和哈德遜灣都將終止合作歸咎於品牌銷售業績不佳。
Ms Trump's company is private and does not release sales figures.
伊萬卡的公司爲私有，所以不曾公佈銷售數據。
But according to the Wall Street Journal, which cited research from Rakuten Intelligence, online sales at Amazon, Macy's and Bloomingdales fell almost 45% in the year to June.
但《華爾街日報》援引樂天情報公司的調研數據稱，截止今年6月，伊萬卡品牌在亞馬遜、梅西百貨和布魯明戴爾百貨的網店銷售額年比下跌近45%。
An investigation by the Washington Post last year found that virtually all of Ms Trump's clothing was manufactured in developing countries such as Bangladesh, Indonesia and China.
《華盛頓郵報》去年的調查發現，幾乎所有伊萬卡品牌的服裝都是在孟加拉國、印尼和中國等發展中國家製造的。
A spokesperson for the firm told the Wall Street Journal that the fall was due to a tough comparison against last year when sales soared after Donald Trump became president.
該公司的一名發言人告訴《華爾街日報》說，業績下滑是因爲去年特朗普當選總統時產品銷量大漲而形成的落差。
The reported sales surge last year came after Kellyanne Conway, a counsellor to President Trump, was accused of breaking ethics rules by promoting Ivanka Trump products during a live TV interview from the White House.
去年伊萬卡品牌的“銷量大漲”和特朗普顧問凱利安妮•康威在白宮接受電視直播訪談時推銷伊萬卡的產品不無關係，康威此舉被指違反道德守則。
BBC網站截圖 Ms Trump's fashion career started with the launch of her jewellery brand in 2007. She developed seven categories ranging from footwear and handbags to eyewear and fragrance over the next six years.
伊萬卡於2007年推出了自有珠寶品牌，從此開始了她的時尚事業。在接下來的六年，伊萬卡又推出了鞋、手包、眼鏡、香水等七類產品。
Ms Trump herself imposed restrictions on how the company could operate when she moved to work for her father, including not expanding internationally and requiring the firm to obtain her approval before striking agreements with new domestic partners.
伊萬卡在入白宮爲父親工作前，曾對公司的經營方式作出了限制，包括不能向國外擴張，以及和新的國內合作伙伴敲定合同前要徵得她的許可。
The company said these restrictions limited the company's ability to grow and meant winding down the business was the fairest option for the brand's partners and its employees.
公司稱，這些規定限制了公司的發展，因此關閉公司對該品牌的合作伙伴和員工來說是最公平的選擇。
The firm also said that Ms Trump would not agree to selling the brand since a third party was unlikely to adhere to the restrictions she had put in place.
公司還表示，伊萬卡不同意賣掉該品牌，因爲第三方無法遵守她所立下的限制性規定。
Current licensing agreements with partners will continue until the end of their period, meaning the company's products would continue for now to be sold at US stores such as Bloomingdales, Zappos and Amazon, the firm said.
公司稱，與合作方的許可協議會履行直至到期，這意味着伊萬卡公司的產品目前還會繼續在布魯明戴爾百貨、Zappos和亞馬遜銷售。
A clothing item made by the Ivanka Trump brand is seen for sale at a Marshalls department store in Queens, New York, July 24, 2018. [Photo/VCG] 伊萬卡公司銷售業績連連下滑直至倒閉，她的老爸特朗普似乎脫不了干係。
Shannon Coulter, co-founder of the #GrabYourWallet campaign which has targeted brands with ties to the Trump administration, said she was not surprised by the news.
致力於打擊和特朗普政府有關品牌的#抓緊你的錢包活動的共同創立者香農•庫爾特表示，聽到這一消息並不感到驚訝。
"This news is a direct result of the Trump administration’s immigration policy and the forceable removal of kids from their parents,” she said. “It is really clear that when this administration shows its xenophobic, racist tendencies, retailers come under increasing pressure to distance themselves from these brands.”
她說：“伊萬卡公司關閉是特朗普政府的移民政策以及強迫孩子和父母分離的直接結果。當政府表現出仇外和種族主義傾向時，零售商將在不斷增加的壓力下和這些品牌劃清界限，這一事實再明顯不過了。”
She pointed to Nordstrom’s decision to ditch Trump, which came shortly after Trump announced his first Muslim travel ban, and more recently Hudson Bay, the Canadian retailer which severed ties after Trump’s imposition of tariffs on Canadian goods.
她指出，在特朗普宣佈第一條穆斯林旅行禁令之後不久，諾德斯特龍就決定和伊萬卡品牌終止合作。前不久在特朗普對加拿大商品加徵關稅後，加拿大零售商哈德遜灣也和伊萬卡品牌解除了合同。
有這樣的老爹，想要兼顧從商和從政是不可能了。雖然伊萬卡的時尚事業結束了，但是她明確表示未來數年的工作重心都將在華盛頓，沒有了副業的牽絆，她可以專心從政，也許就此誕生一顆美國政壇新星也未可知。
