Adidas Releasing More Yeezy Sneakers After Ending Kanye West Relationship
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Adidas will release its second batch of unsold Yeezy sneakers since cutting ties with rapper Kanye West.
The company ended its partnership with West — who now goes by Ye — in October 2022 after he claimed a Jewish cabal was using its influence to undermine him.
While Adidas didn’t want to remain associated with someone labeled anti-Semitic, the breakup left them stuck with $1.3 billion in unsold inventory. Selling them would mean bad PR, but burning them would send potential profits (literally) up in smoke.
“Burning is not the solution,” chief executive Bjorn Gulden said at Adidas’ annual shareholders’ meeting.
So the brand settled on a solution: Sell the Yeezy inventory while also donating to groups fighting antisemitism.
The company said it will continue to support the the Anti-Defamation League and the Philonise & Keeta Floyd Institute for Social Change. In addition, Adidas is partnering with Robert Kraft’s Foundation to Combat Antisemitism.
They released the first batch in May.
“What we are trying to do over time is to sell parts of these goods and then donate to organizations that help us and that also have been hurt by Kanye’s statements,” Gulden said.
Adidas will release a second batch of unsold Yeezys. (Photo by Christian Vierig/Getty Images)
West’s luxury line of Yeezy footwear and clothing was immensely popular. Over time, it accounted for 10% of Adidas’ sales, according to The Washington Post.
Adidas will release the second batch of sneakers Wednesday — online only. This is your chance to get a hold of the Yeezy Boost 350 V2, 500, and 700 as well as the Yeezy Slide and Foam RNR.
Source: Outkick
