MEXICO CITY — Mexican nationalist group Mexicans to the Shout of War aims to deploy a social media campaign calling for a boycott of Amazon Mexico for selling the Donald Trump and Ivanka Trump apparel collections.
“We are preparing a large campaign against Amazon as they are the biggest retailer in Mexico selling Trump,” said Enzzo Omar Sosa, the group’s director, adding that the effort will encourage Mexicans to also shun other merchants carrying Trump merchandise. “This will be ready [Tuesday] and we hope Mexicans will avoid Amazon and buy from local online retailers.”
Employing the #NadaDeAmazon and #NadaDeTrump [#NothingFromAmazon and #NothingFromTrump] hashtags, the blitz will add to similar efforts the activist group, which claims to have 600,000 followers, has launched in recent months. One such effort included a major boycott of Wal-Mart de Mexico branded #AdiosWalmart, which Sosa claimed dented sales at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Mexico by 20 percent since it began in January.
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Other leftist groups Radioamlo.com.mx, Regeneracion.com.mx and Zocalo.com.mx, with 240,000, 900,000 and 1 million followers, respectively, will join the campaign, according to Sosa. Other top consumer lobby El Poder del Consumidor will also participate.
The action follows luxury department-store network El Palacio de Hierro’s removal of the Ivanka line amid reports the brand was underperforming. The chain stopped purchasing the U.S. President’s daughter’s merchandise late last year and said it only sold shoes and accessories.
At Amazon.com.mx’s recently launched fashion store, several styles of Donald J. Trump Signature suits, blazers and jackets can be added to the shopping cart with a two-button, side-vent suit selling for up to 5,000 pesos or $254. The Ivanka section is larger, marketing a range of footwear, boot and dress styles. A pair of long, cream-colored “Ellis” boots retails for as much as 6,400 pesos, or $346 at current exchange.
“This is really unfortunate. Mexicans must stop buying Trump or American brands and choose our products and brands,” Sosa said.
He said department-store chain Liverpool and its Fabricas de Francia unit also carry Trump apparel. A Liverpool insider said the line is not carried, although she could not immediately confirm if it ever was.
Representatives for Amazon Mexico and its American parent did not return several requests seeking comment.
Some executives claimed there was little demand in Mexico for Donald Trump’s apparel collection, which suits licensor Peerless reportedly makes in some Mexican factories.
“I don’t think he ever made money in Mexico or was really that well-known, except in high social spheres,” said Edgar Smolensky, chief commercial officer at Saks Fifth Avenue Mexico and purchasing director at Sears Mexico, owned by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim. “We never carried anything from him. We thought the lines were pretty boring and expensive.”
Peerless did not return requests for comment. However, Premium Brands Footwear, a Mexican firm that partnered with The Trump Organization to make casual and dress shoes in 2014, told WWD it is no longer making any Trump products.
The boycotts have also targeted McDonald’s and Starbucks and take aim at Trump’s threats to rewrite the North American Free Trade Agreement and force Mexico to pay for the U.S. president’s border wall.
Anger and condemnation against the President’s threats against Mexico and past insults reached new heights recently when citizens staged major anti-Trump protests, with the sentiment spilling to the Oscars where Mexican star Gabriel Garcia Bernal slammed Trump’s proposed barricade. Mexican-born designer Raul Solis’ spring underwear collection bearing “F–k Your Wall” and “No Ban No Wall” also generated buzz during New York Fashion Week.
The Facebook and Twitter campaigns have hit top-selling U.S. clothing labels including Tommy Hilfiger, Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister and Nike — with sales falling 10 to 20 percent in recent weeks, claimed Sosa.
Wal-Mart de Mexico communications director Juan Antonio Ocaranza said the boycotts have had a mild impact on sales. However, January riots to decry fuel hikes did hurt the business, with turnover falling 1.5 to 2 percent below projections as Wal-Mart de Mexico was forced to shut 27 stores for nearly a month. Based on January sales of 38 billion pesos, or $1.9 billion at current exchange ,and its 2,291 stores, the discounter lost an estimated $829,332 in potential revenue. Ocaranza declined to estimate theft and store-damage losses during the ransackings, which took place in mainly Mexico State, Central Mexico and Veracruz.