TIMES.KY

Cayman Islands, Caribbeanand International News
Saturday, May 27, 2023

Adidas to sell Yeezy shoes from defunct Kanye West partnership and donate some proceeds to charity

Adidas to sell Yeezy shoes from defunct Kanye West partnership and donate some proceeds to charity

The German sportswear brand has been in a predicament over what to do with millions of Yeezy brand shoes sitting in storage after their sale was put on hold following the company's high-profile split with Kanye West last year.

Adidas has said it plans to sell some of its Yeezy trainers and merchandise from its defunct partnership with Kanye West and donate some of the proceeds to charity.

The German sportswear giant has been in a predicament over the Yeezy stock after it cut ties with West over his antisemitic comments late last year.

Millions of Yeezy brand shoes with a retail value of €1.2bn (£1.05bn) are sitting in storage after their sale was put on hold - with their value in the resale market rocketing after production stopped, with some models more than doubling in price.


The debacle over the rapper, now known as Ye, contributed to the company's first annual loss in more than three decades.

Adidas chief executive Bjoern Gulden said burning the goods "would not be a solution" and said the firm is trying to sell some of the merchandise "over time", adding that proceeds would be donated to international organisations that West had harmed with his comments.

Adidas, which was criticised for not acting sooner over Ye's remarks, was among a string of companies which cut ties with the 45-year-old after he made antisemitic comments on social media.

Yeezy trainers have been a big hit for the company and are much sought after on the used market, routinely selling for hundreds of pounds.

Mr Gulden said at the company's annual shareholder meeting that it had yet to be determined when and how the planned sale would proceed.

He said the company had decided against donating the sneakers to avoid them reaching the market in a roundabout way.

Shares in Adidas went up 2% following the meeting.

By selling some of the stock, the company is potentially minimising a $700m (£559m) loss this year, but it is unclear how
much stock will be sold and what proportion of the proceeds will be donated.

If the goods are sold, Ye will be entitled to previously-agreed commissions - 15% of turnover, according to media reports.

Mr Gulden defended Adidas's years-long collaboration with the rapper, saying that "as difficult as he was, he is perhaps the most creative mind in our industry".

Newsletter

Related Articles

TIMES.KY
Close
0:00
0:00
Pfizer, the EU, and disappearing ink - Smoke, Mirrors, and the Billion-Dose Pfizer Vaccine Deal: EU's 'Open Secret
Actor Tom Hanks told Harvard University graduates to be superheroes in their defense of truth and American ideals, and to resist those who twist the truth for their own gain
The Sussexes' Royal Rebound: Could Harry and Meghan Markle Return to the UK?
A provocative study suggests: Left-Wing Extremism and its Unsettling Connection to Psychopathy and Narcissism
France Arrests 10 on Suspicion of Failing to Respond in Time to Migrant Drowning
Neuralink Receives FDA Approval for First-in-Human Clinical Study
Is Saudi Arabia the holiest place in the world? Ancient Hebrew Inscriptions from "The Mount Sinai Stand" Discovered in Saudi Arabia
Ukrainian Intelligence Official Admits to Assassination Attempts on Putin
Bernard Arnault Loses $11.2 Billion in One Day as Investors Fear Slowdown in US Growth Will Reduce Demand for Luxury Products
Russian’s Wagner Group leader: “I am not a chef, I am a butcher. Russia is in danger of a revolution like in 1917.”
TikTok Sues Montana Over Law Banning the App
Ron DeSantis Jumps Into 2024 Presidential Race, Setting Up Showdown With Trump
Last Walmart in North Portland Closing Down
Florida's DeSantis seeks to disqualify judge in Disney case
Talks between US House Republicans and President Biden's Democratic administration on raising the federal government's $31.4tn debt ceiling have paused
Biden Administration Eyeing High-Profile Visits to China: The Biden Administration is heating things up by looking into setting up a series of top-level visits to Beijing by top officials in the coming months
New evidence in special counsel probe may undercut Trump’s claim documents he took were automatically declassified
A French court of appeals confirmed former President Nicolas Sarkozy's three-year jail term for corruption and influence peddling
Debt Ceiling Crises Have Unleashed Political Chaos
Weibao Wang, a former software engineer at Apple, was charged with stealing trade secrets related to autonomous systems, including self-driving cars
Mobile phone giant Vodafone to cut 11,000 jobs globally over three years as new boss says its performance not good enough
Elon Musk compares George Soros to Magneto, the supervillain from the Marvel Comics series.
Warren Buffett Sells TSMC Shares Over Concerns About Taiwan's Stability
New Study Finds That Secondary Bacterial Pneumonia Is a Major Cause of Death in COVID-19 Patients Who Require Ventilator Assistance
The Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines calls the British monarchy "an absurdity" he wants to remove in his lifetime
King Charles III being crowned.
'Godfather Of AI' Geoffrey Hinton Quits Google To Warn Of The Tech's Dangers
A Real woman
Vermont Man Charged with Stalking After Secretly Tracking Woman with Apple AirTag
Elon Musk Statements About Tesla Autopilot Could Be 'Deepfakes,' Lawyers Claim. Judge Evette Pennypacker Does Not Understand How Far and Advanced This Technology Became
Ukraine More Prepared for Counterattack as Reinforcements Arrive
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni Discuss Migration, Defence, and Ukraine
AT&T's Successful Test of Satellite-Based Phone Call Raises Possibility of Widespread Coverage
CNN: "Joe Biden is asking for four more years — when 74% of Americans think the country is heading the wrong way“
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Cuts Short Live TV Interview Due to Health Issue
US Congresswoman threaten Twitter Files journalist with arrest
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh slams New York Times' pro-government stance and treatment of sources
Enough is enough: it's time to end the war in Ukraine. While Russia may be to blame for starting it, Russia is not the one refusing to stop it
Fox News Settles their case with Dominion Voting Systems for a staggering $787.5 MILLION
AG decries scapegoating and rushed lawmaking by government
The land of the free violence
21-year-old Massachusetts Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira has been arrested for leaking classified Pentagon Documents
The Supreme Court will allow a 12-year-old transgender West Virginia girl to compete on her middle school’s girls' sports teams amid a lawsuit over a ban
Bank of America cuts short conference after outrage at Ukraine comments
Revealed: royals took more than £1bn income from controversial estates
Mitt Romney calls Trump indictment 'overreach,' says charges were 'stretched' to suit a 'political agenda'
The G-7 aims to make global crypto regulations tougher
Don’t Dismiss China’s Peacemaking Bid
China and Brazil have signed a new deal that will allow them to trade in their own currencies, bypassing the US dollar as an intermediary
Elon Musk and Others Call for Pause on A.I., Citing ‘Profound Risks to Society’
×