It has been a long time since fans heard the name Kanye West for anything related to hip-hop. Kanye created a brand for himself that replicated the legacy of articulately created music. Not only hip-hop, but Ye went on to create a fashion enterprise empire, which was on the rise impacting the culture. But, in recent times, he has tainted his image, legacy, and brand with his statements and erratic behavior. In October 2022, West introduced a new line of Yeezy shirts at the Paris Fashion Week which had ‘White Lives Matter’ printed on it.
The shirt received a heavy backlash for mocking the efforts of the African American community against racism. But, the rapper did not stop at that. He went further, warning the Jews that he will go “defcon3” on them. Ye’s antisemitic behavior landed him in financial trouble. The industry witnessed a domino effect when all the major brands which had ties with Kanye started to pull the plug including Balenciaga and Adidas. West was no more a billionaire when Adidas severed ties with him causing him a huge loss. But, the shoe giant is facing the consequence of dropping Yeezy and Kanye West.
Read More: Kanye West Made Adidas Executives Uncomfortable With Porn. Here’s What Happened
Adidas Is Left With Yeezys Worth Millions After Sacking Kanye West
Without a doubt, Kanye West revived the crumbling Adidas with the Yeezy collaboration. In 2013, when Nike surpassed Adidas in terms of new designs and sales, the German shoe company was in shambles. The company saw a potential partnership with Kanye West as their moment of redemption.
So, Adidas signed a contract with Yeezy starting a partnership that helped the company to revive and increase its sales exponentially. In 2016, Adidas’ sales went up by 18%
In 2022, Yeezy contributed 7% to the $1.7 billion Adidas revenue. But, now Ye is not the only one left in financial misery. Adidas also suffered a huge loss when it cut ties with Kanye. The company reportedly lost $256 million. However, Adidas, according to Financial Times, has $500 million worth of Yeezys in their stock.
In the article, the top-tier executives have warned the company that there is over-reliance on Yeezy for its revenue. Adidas did not reveal the figure to its investors. An analyst told Financial Times, “They did not give us enough of an indication of how big it was and how important it was to growth. Probably, they didn’t want to highlight how reliant they’ve become on the brand”.
Read More: Former Adidas And Yeezy Employees Accuse Kanye West Of Lewd Behavior And Bullying
Adidas Is All Set To Launch New Yeezy Trainers Without Association With The Artist
Despite canceling the deal, Adidas has continued to retain the Intellectual Property rights of the Yeezys. The Chief Financial Officer, Harm Ohlmeyer told during the Quarter 3 closing call, “Going forward, we will leverage the existing inventory with the exact plans being developed as we speak. It should refrain from relaunching items under its brand, as they will always be synonymous with West, and this would likely result in muted customer demand”.
After cutting ties with Ye, Adidas is all set to launch their new Adidas Yeezy. The new Yeezy 350 V2 ‘Granite’ will be launched in January 2023. The pairs were supposed to be launched in early fall. The Yeezy brand tag is still intact but during the launch, the company will remove them.
The company terminated the deal stating “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”.
Read More: Why Pusha T Is Not A Part Of G.O.O.D Music Founded By Kanye West?
