Adidas puts unsold Yeezy stock back on sale, proceeds to be donated

Yeezy come, not so Yeezy go: Adidas is selling remaining inventory stock designed by Ye – the artist formerly known as Kanye West – and donating a “significant amount” to organisations working to combat discrimination and hate. 

The decision follows the designer’s repeated antisemitic comments and is a move that aims to end the ethical and financial nightmare of the company’s conscious decoupling from Ye.

Why it matters

Brands exist in increasingly political times and the problems they face contain many complexities that don’t tend to occupy the conversation at the same volume as the central issue – but they are real. Adidas’ solution, while not devoid of problems, seeks to end the issue as soon as possible and start afresh, though there is a lot of inventory to sell.

But there’s a weird brand story here too. Despite the toxic association, it appears that enthusiasm for Yeezy sneakers remains strong.

The story

According to a press release from the company, a range of existing designs will be made available to consumers (through Adidas’ websites) for the first time since parting ways with West. These will be a series of three releases that echo the ‘drops’ that helped make the brand a streetwear icon.

Adidas is contractually obliged to honour the partnership’s 15% royalty contract, which means that Ye will receive some of the money from the sale – a fact that some Jewish groups, speaking to the New York Times, felt to be “highly problematic”. The company has, in fairness, attempted to stop payments but was prevented by a New York court from doing so. 

The sportswear giant cut ties with the rapper in October 2022, a move that would leave as much as €1.2 billion of unsold inventory and end one of the company’s most profitable brands. The company adds that it chose to see through production of the stock to protect supply chain partners.

Key quote

“We believe this is the best solution as it respects the created designs and produced shoes, it works for our people, resolves an inventory problem, and will have a positive impact in our communities. There is no place in sport or society for hate of any kind and we remain committed to fighting against it,” said Adidas CEO Bjørn Gulden in a press release.

Sourced from Adidas, The New York Times, WARC, Bloomberg