Adidas has sold its last Yeezy sneaker

LONDON – Adidas said on March 5 that it had sold its last pair of Yeezys, a wildly popular and profitable sneaker brand it developed with American rapper-designer Ye, as it tried to move past the publicity nightmare that followed after Ye’s anti-Semitic comments.

The German sportswear giant severed ties with Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, in 2022 after

he posted anti-Semitic remarks on social media

and made other offensive comments publicly.

Adidas had said that ending its nearly decade-long collaboration with the 47-year-old entertainer cost it nearly 250 million euros (S$360 million) that year.

The rapper apologised to the Jewish community in 2022 only to later retract his apology in a barrage of social media posts in February in which

he declared he was a Nazi

.

The sale of Adidas’ remaining Yeezy inventory generated about 50 million euros in the fourth quarter of 2024, boosting the company’s overall revenue to 5.97 billion euros, up 24 per cent from a year earlier, Adidas said in an earnings report on March 5.

But the sports brand was cautious in its outlook, cutting its revenue growth forecast for 2025 to 10 per cent, from 12 per cent in 2024. It was the first time, the company said, that the outlook did not include revenue from the Yeezy line.

The breakup was hardest felt in North America, where the apparel was driven by the Grammy-winning rapper’s popularity.

“Sales in North America declined 2 per cent solely due to significantly lower Yeezy sales,” said Adidas, which is based in Herzogenaurach, Germany.

Mr Bjorn Gulden, who became chief executive in 2023, said the company would cut up to 500 jobs at its headquarters to shift decision-making to offices around the globe.

“We need to reduce complexity,” he said, adding that it made little sense for employees in Germany to decide what was needed in markets abroad.

After ending its ties with Ye, the apparel company struggled with slowing sales and revelations that it had ignored the rapper’s misconduct for years. The severed contract also left Adidas with mountains of sneakers and clothing, and potential losses of 1.2 billion euros in sales and about 500 million euros in profit in 2024.

Under Mr Gulden, Adidas decided in 2023 not to write off the remaining Yeezy stock, but sell it and donate part of the profit to organisations such as the Anti-Defamation League and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft’s Foundation to Combat Antisemitism.

On March 5, Mr Gulden struck an optimistic tone, signalling the company’s eagerness to put the Yeezy scandal behind it with new celebrity collaborations and a focus on other popular sneaker lines, like the Samba, a decades-old brand that has had a resurgence in popularity.

“With all the challenges out there, let’s not forget that there are so many fun things to look forward to in 2025,” Mr Gulden said. NYTIMES

Melissa Eddy contributed reporting from Berlin.