CEO of Adidas Predicts A 1.2 Billion Dollar Loss Over Kanye West’s Unsold Yeezy Merchandise

The New Chief Executive Officer for Adidas, Bjorn Gulden, has made a statement indicating that the German Sportswear group is on the edge of losing 750 million dollars over Ye's sneakerline which has been left unsold. According to Bloomberg Business, Adidas could sell these sneakers since it’s said to have design rights after the partnership with the rapper was terminated, however it can affect their reputation in the long run.

Rapper, Kanye West, also known as Ye, in 2013 announced of his partnership with Adidas to sell sneakers under the name YEEZY. The partnership brought an increase in the sales of Adidas three years after. According to the Insider news portal, Adidas reported 18% annual sale increase after the partnership. Yeezy Sneaker empire also elevated Ye to be among the Forbes list of Billionaires with a net worth of 1.3 Billion in 2020.

The rapper and entrepreneur faced crisis in 2022 after he tweeted hate speech on Twitter and Instagram about the Black Community and Jews. His anti-sematic and racist remarks brought about public backlash which took over social media. Ye was blocked on social media for his comments whiles Adidas also released a statement describing his comment as unacceptable, hateful and dangerous which is not in line with the company’s values.

After a review from Adidas, it announced on October 25, 2022 a termination of the contract with Ye. The Adidas group also announced an immediate end of production of Yeezy branded products whiles they also ceased payment to Ye and his companies.

The Adidas group faced a drop in their shares on the stock market after they announced the termination. It has also revealed this a significant loss of revenue this year if the existing stock of Yeezy’s sneakers are not sold. The loss in operation profit could be about 535 million dollars according to Bloomberg Business.

Ye’s name has however been excluded from the list of Billionaire’s according to Forbes after he cut ties with Adidas.