Adidas to sell some Yeezy stock, donate proceeds to groups rapper Ye harmed with comments
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Adidas estimates that its decision to not sell its existing Yeezy stock will cut its revenue by $1.74 billion.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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FUERTH, Germany – Adidas plans to sell some of the merchandise from its Yeezy partnership with rapper Kanye West and donate the proceeds to international organisations, the company’s chief executive Bjorn Gulden said on Thursday.
When and how sales will start is an open question.
“We are working on these things. Burning the goods would not be a solution,” Mr Gulden said during the company’s annual general meeting.
He said the proceeds would be donated to international organisations that West, who changed his name to Ye in 2021, has harmed with his comments.
Adidas terminated its partnership with the rapper and fashion designer
Millions of Yeezy brand shoes that have been produced but the sale of which has been put on hold, has since been sitting in storage as the company decides what to do with the stock.
Adidas donated more than US$1 million (S$1.3 million) to the Anti-Defamation League, an international Jewish non-governmental organisation based in New York, in November.
The organisation told Reuters that it “stands ready and prepared to work with Adidas”.
In February, Adidas estimated that the decision to not sell the existing merchandise will cut its full-year revenue by 1.2 billion (S$1.74 billion)
The loss may be even steeper if the company does not figure out how to repurpose the already-made Yeezy products.
For months, investors have been waiting for Adidas to decide how it will offset the losses.
In an investor’s call in March, Mr Gulden said he received hundreds of business proposals, but it was important to tread carefully given the tarnished reputation that the product is associated with. REUTERS
