ADIDAS TO SELL YEEZY ITEMS, DONATE MONEY TO CHARITY
German retailer Adidas has decided to sell some of the Yeezy trainers and other products it still has in stock.
The collaboration between Adidas and rapper Kanye West was set to make a lot of money for both parties due to the shoes and the rapper’s popularity at the time, but instead meant the company showed its first LOSS in over 30 years.
The rapper, who has legally changed his name to Ye, made anti-Semitic comments in 2022. The comments caused several of his collaborations and sponsors to withdraw.
Adidas chief executive Bjoern Gulden said as a company they’re still working out how the sales would take place. It currently has about $1.3 billion worth of Yeezy shoes in storage.
“What we are trying to do now over time is to sell some of this merchandise… Burning the goods would not be a solution.”
The decision to sell the items instead of donating them comes after the firm decided that it didn’t want to see the products reach the market indirectly.
RTE reports that a sale could help reduce some of those losses. Ye will also be entitled to some of the money, under the terms of the partnership.
After the meeting where Gulden made the announcement, shares in Adidas were up 2%.
Image credit: MARCA