The fate of Adidas’ excess Yeezy stock, after splitting from Ye, aka Kanye West: rather than ‘burn’ it, CEO Bjørn Gulden plans to sell the sneakers and donate the proceeds to charity

May 13 , 2023

A man wears a pair of Yeezy sneakers in Milan. Photo: Shutterstock

It’s been months since Adidas cut ties with Ye, also known as Kanye West, following the rapper’s anti-Semitic comments on social media – now, it has made a decision on its next move

The German sportswear brand currently has around US$1.3 billion worth of unsold Yeezy sneakers, and while exact details are to be revealed, the plan is to sell the shoes and donate proceeds to charity

After months of wrestling over the fate of millions of unsold Yeezy shoes, Adidas said on Thursday that it will sell a portion of its remaining inventory and donate the proceeds to charitable organisations.

The German sportswear company cut ties with Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, in late October, following his anti-Semitic comments on social media and in interviews. Since then, the fate of US$1.3 billion (1.2 billion euros) worth of the unsold Yeezys, a lucrative trainer line launched with Ye, has been up in the air.

A sign advertises Yeezy shoes made by Adidas at Kickclusive, a trainer resale store, in Paramus, New Jersey, in October 2022. Photo: AP

At Adidas’ annual shareholders meeting, CEO Bjørn Gulden said the company had spent months trying to find solutions. He said the company spoke to non-governmental organisations and groups that were harmed by Ye’s comments and actions.

“Burning those shoes cannot be the solution,” Gulden said, adding that Adidas will try to sell part of the remaining Yeezy inventory and “donate money to the organisations that help us and were harmed by what Ye said”.

Exact details of the plan – including how many shoes will be sold and the timeline of selling them – were not disclosed. Gulden said the company will provide updates as it moves forward.

Kanye West, known as Ye, watches the first half of an NBA basketball game between the Washington Wizards and the Los Angeles Lakers in Los Angeles, in March 2022. Photo: AP

The move comes as Adidas is trying to stage a comeback and move beyond the Yeezy partnership. Cutting ties with Ye has cost the company hundreds of millions of dollars – contributing to a loss of US$655 million in sales for the last three months of 2022, helping drive the company to a quarterly net loss of US$560 million.

Adidas reported US$441 million in lost sales at the start of 2023, the company announced last week.

Net sales declined one per cent in the first quarter, to US$5.7 billion, and would have risen nine per cent with the Yeezy line, the company said. It reported a net loss of US$26 million, a plunge from a profit of US$338 million in the same period a year ago.

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