In spite of 675,000-name petition urging Macy's to dump Donald Trump as a spokesperson, the company isn't making the Tweet-happy pundit pack his bags.
"We try to separate from that and we try to let the customer vote on that," Macy's CMO Martine Reardon said at Business Insider's IGNITION conference. "As long as that customer is still voting by wanting to buy that product, then that's what it's all about."
The half million -lus protestors complained that "Donald Trump does not reflect the 'magic of Macy's,'" accusing him of sexism, racially charged birther beliefs (about President Obama), and producing most of his Macy's line in China.
Macy's CEO also defended the retailer's partnership with Trump. "Please understand and appreciate that Macy's marketing and merchandising offerings are not representative of any political position," he wrote in a defense to the petition.
Reardon discussed the difficulties of using celebrity spokespeople.
"There is some risk because I don't control what Justin Bieber does day in and day out, nor do I want to," she said.
Although when the young pop star does something controversial, like allegedly punching someone in the face, Reardon clarified, "I don't think it reflects on Macy's at all."
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