Business

Adidas Made $437 Million From Yeezys Despite Cutting Ties With Ye

FRANKFURT, Germany — Adidas brought in 400 million euros ($437 million) from the first release of Yeezy sneakers left over after breaking ties with Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, as the German sportswear maker tries to offload the unsold shoes and donate part of the proceeds to groups fighting antisemitism and other forms of hate.

Read More: Adidas’ Dark History Is in the Spotlight as It Ends Deal With Kanye West Over His Antisemitic Comments

The first batch of shoes sold in June helped the company reach an operating profit of 176 million euros in the second quarter, better than it originally planned, Adidas said in a statement Thursday.

After Ye’s antisemitic and other offensive comments led the company to end its partnership with the rapper in October, Adidas has sought a way to dispose of 1.2 billion euros worth of the high-end shoes in a responsible way.

“We will continue to carefully sell off more of the existing Yeezy inventory,” said CEO Bjørn Gulden, who took over in January. Adidas said it sold out the first batch of Yeezy shoes and launched a second release on Wednesday.

“This is much better than destroying and writing off the inventory and allows us to make substantial donations to organizations like the Anti-Defamation League, the Philonise & Keeta Floyd Institute for Social Change and Robert Kraft’s Foundation to Combat Antisemitism,” Gulden said.

Several Jewish civic leaders contacted by The Associated Press said they weren’t planning to buy a pair of Yeezys themselves but generally welcomed the plan to support anti-hate organizations, saying the company is trying to make the best of a bad situation.

Read More: What to Know About Kanye West’s Anti-Semitic Remarks—and the Companies That Have Cut Ties

The Adidas chief executive added that the Yeezy sales are “of course also helping both our cash flow and general financial strength.”

The blow-up of the Ye partnership put Adidas in a precarious position because of the popularity of the Yeezy line, and it faced growing pressure to end ties last year as other companies cut off the rapper. Adidas said it now expects to report an operating loss of 450 million euros this year instead of 700 million euros.

Yeezy revenue from June were “largely in line” with sales seen in the same April-to-June period last year, Adidas said.

Adidas has not said how many shoes it is selling or whether Ye is receiving royalties from the sales. It has only said that “we will honor our contractual obligations and enforce our rights but will not share any more details.”

Related Posts

Matrix Gas & Renewables raises Rs 350 cr in pre-IPO round

Matrix Gas and Renewables Ltd (Matrix) on Tuesday said it has raised Rs 350 crore in the pre-IPO round to accelerate expansion of its gas business, acquisitions, and…

Onion auctions start in Nasik mandis after 13 days’ closure as traders end strike

The onion auctions commenced on Tuesday at 17 wholesale mandis in Nashik, the hub of the country’s onion trade, after 13 days’ closure, as traders and commission agents…

Share Market Highlight- Markets end higher! Nifty closes above 21,700, Sensex gains over 600 points; Bank, Healthcare, and Pharma stocks gains

Share Market News Today | Sensex, Nifty, Share Prices Highlights: The benchmark equity indices closed in positive territory. The NSE Nifty 50 closed 203.60 points or 0.95% higher…

SEBI to introduce T+0 settlement on an optional basis by March 28- Madhabi Puri Buch

Market regulator SEBI will introduce T+0 settlement on an optional basis starting March 28. The Chairperson Madhabi Puri said this at an interaction on the sidelines of an…

Studio Ghibli Limited-Edition Blu-Rays Are Discounted And B2G1 Free In Amazon's Early Prime Day Sale

Prime Day 2024 officially runs July 16-17, but plenty of great deals are now available ahead of the shopping holiday. In fact, Amazon is already offering a generous…

The Immense Satisfaction Of Perfection

Perfectionism is a great source of misery for me. It’s the thing that keeps me from writing a book, striking up more conversations, and trying my hand at…