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Donald Trump is cruising toward the Republican nomination once again. But has the luster gone from his golden throne?
I’m outside Washington, D.C., at this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference, which is pretty much MAGA central these days. And the queen of Trump merchandise, a cheerful Texas businesswoman named Sany Dash, tells me that business so far is a fraction of what it used to be.
“It’s not the greatest, but we’re doing OK,” she says. If sales were at the levels seen in 2018 to 2020, she says, “we’d be doing about five times what we’re doing right now.”
Five times. That’s a big drop between then and now — 80% or more.
Dash, who launched USATrumpStore.com seven years ago, also used to have 22 physical stores around the country. Now she’s down to three.
Make America Glitter Again!
But sales are still better than a year ago, when they were “really slow,” she adds.
Still, it’s a two-day conference. Things may pick up yet.
Or maybe the market is simply saturated. How many golden Trump playing cards ($25), baseball caps ($30) and giant, glittery pinkie rings ($350) can the market absorb?
Even the most diehard MAGA fan may have all the golden Trump bobblehead dolls ($50) they can use.
But for Dash — who, incidentally, as an immigrant from India who describes herself as socially liberal, hardly fits the stereotype of a Make America Great Again supporter — business is still good. Even during last year’s lull, she sold $2.5 million in merch.
So the MAGA money train is still rolling.
Over at Liberty Cigars, John Adams — his real name — makes cigars named and themed after various presidents and other American historical figures.
I catch up with Adams, a businessman and history buff from Atlanta, on Thursday, the first day of the conference. He says that so far, Trump cigars have outsold all his other offerings, from Madison and Grant to Washington and Kennedy. All told, he sells about 200 cigars the first afternoon.
The Trump cigar, he says, “starts out with a ton of spice” but mellows as you smoke it. It can be yours for $14.
Adams launched his business 10 years ago. Sales are still growing by about 20% to 25% a year, he says.
I was surprised that there weren’t more merchandise sellers at the conference, but Dash explains that the cost keeps her competitors away. CPAC charges her $15,000 for her stall.
Maybe this is why sellers were so thin on the ground at this year’s event. I remember there being a booming business outside the Republican convention in 2016.
But as evidenced by a man decked out completely in MAGA gear — Trump cap, T-shirt, trousers and shoes — this can be a great business to be in. Catch the right wave, and you can print money.
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