It has become difficult for Adidas after the breakup of partnership with American rapper Kanye West. Adidas partnered with Kanye West for the Yeezy series of shoes.
But, with the breakup of the partnership, the company is left with a dilemma as to what to do with its stock of 1.2 billion Euros (1 billion pounds) of Yeezy shoes.
However, the company also feels that its customers will not be affected by Kanye West’s anti-Semitic comments and can still buy goods from the brand associated with him.
Adidas CEO Bjorn Gulden said the company is looking to sell the stock and use the profits for charity. He told that the option of burning that stock has been rejected.
The CEO said that it is also a bit difficult to give these shoes for free as this would lead to the shoes being sold further at higher prices.
Kanye West has bipolar disorder. He showed a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt at Paris Fashion Week, which was strongly opposed. A few days later, he posted anti-Semitic statements on Twitter.
Due to the uproar that followed, Adidas broke its nine-year partnership with Kanye West.
As per the contract that the two parties had, Adidas will have to pay Kanye West if they decide to sell the Yeezys. They are looking into ways to repurpose the products at 15-30%.
The contract cancellation cost Adidas €600 million in the last few months of 2022, and they project profits to dip by €500 million this year. One of the options being considered include selling them at a lower amount and donating the profits to charity.
