Adidas is looking to face staggering losses in the coming year. The freshly installed Adidas boss Bjørn Gulden is unsure what to do with the Yeezy stock that remains with the organization. Kanye West‘s footwear line ‘Yeezy‘ has been a massive money-maker for the Adidas brand.
However, Adidas soon cut ties with the rapper/entrepreneur after he went on anti-Semitic rants. Deemed a danger to freedom of speech, Kanye West was immediately dropped as a client by Adidas. Since then, the organization has been sitting on many Yeezy shares, trying to figure out what to do with them.
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Adidas To Take A Million Dollar Hit From Kanye West’s Contract Termination
Things aren’t looking too good for the apparel giants Adidas. Since cutting ties with Kanye West, the company has been bleeding money. Yeezy brought in a revenue of more than a billion dollars for Adidas, accounting for 7% of its total revenue in 2022.
The boss Bjørn Gulden is forthcoming with the anticipated losses. The brand has suffered the financial consequences, with Gulden saying, “The numbers speak for themselves. We are currently not performing the way we should.”
Adidas remains in doubt over future action with the Yeezy stock. Getting rid of it from their portfolio could cost them €500m (£443m) in losses. The company expects to return to profit in 2024. In the meantime, the apparel brand is looking to operate under €700m loss in 2023.
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Kanye West Fired By Adidas Over Anti-Semitic Remarks
Once, he was a genius. Now, he’s just trouble. Adidas terminated its contract with Ye following his anti-Semitic outburst. West sported a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt at Paris Fashion Week. The rapper then took to social media to spout more hateful sentiments.
Adidas immediately distanced itself from Kanye West, saying, “Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech. Ye’s recent comments and actions have been unacceptable, hateful and dangerous, and they violate the company’s values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness.”
Soon, other enterprises like GAP and Balenciaga followed suit. Kanye West was also fired by his long-time agency Creative Artists Agency. On February 2, 2023, Kanye’s former attorneys at Greenberg Traurig notified the rapper they were longer his legal representative. He has also accused Adidas of owing him loyalties and freezing his bank account. Trouble seems to be mounting for Ye, and it might already be too late.
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