Kanye West has descended into a hate abyss, making him a noxious public figure. The hint of his extremism has been evident since 2016, but in 2022, Ye exceeded all the limits of obnoxiousness. In 2022, during Paris Fashion Week, he introduced “White Lives Matter” t-shirts, offending racial sentiments. Next, he went on a spree to spew hate against the Jews.
Due to Kanye West’s erratic behavior, the industry ousted him. Ye lost a huge amount of his fortune after brands like Adidas and Balenciaga cut ties with him. However, it not only plummeted his finances, but Adidas also ran into a $500 million loss. Since the fallout, Adidas has been figuring out how to sell the remaining Yeezys, and finally, their philanthropic move has paid off.
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Adidas Makes $437 Million Selling Yeezys After Cutting Ties With Kanye West
When Adidas was falling back into competition with its contemporary Nike, Kanye West came as a savior to help them. After signing a deal, the two came out with the first Adidas Yeezy 750, which skyrocketed their sales by 18%. In 2016, Adidas signed a deal with the fashion mogul, but they terminated it after Ye’s anti-Semitism.
Adidas was brainstorming ways to sell the Yeezy inventory in a responsible way after the rapper hurt racial and religious sentiments. So, they decided to channel $120 in Yeezy sales proceeds to anti-hate charity organizations. In June, the shoe mogul released the Boost 350 V2 in two colors for $230. The first batch of Yeezys received as much as $437 million in sales figures.
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Adidas Receives $192 Million In Profit During The Second Quarter
After Adidas severed ties with Kanye West, it estimated an operating loss of $765 million in 2023. However, the first successful batch of sales of Yeezys has reduced that estimation to $492 million. Adidas’ CEO Bjørn Gulden said, “We will continue to carefully sell off more of the existing Yeezy inventory.” It clocked a $192 million profit in the second quarter.
On August 2, 2023, Adidas released the second batch of the bone white Yeezy 500 sneakers and perforated Foam Rnnr clogs. Gulden said that the company is obliged to the contract when asked about the 15% royalty to Kanye West.
Gulden further said, “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.” Many Jewish leaders were not comfortable buying the shoes, but they welcomed the shoe mogul’s idea of converting adversity into something noble.
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