Adidas Breakup With Rapper Ye, Lost Yeezy Sales Hit Earnings

Adidas lost $441 million in sales after severing their collaboration with Kanye West and his Yeezy shoe line over insulting comments; the company has 1.2 billion euros of unsold Yeezy shoes.

Adidas CEO Bjorn Gulden stated on a conference call that the company is close to deciding what to do with its excess sneakers and that its alternatives are limited.

Many interested parties have prevented the company from making a decision. Adidas is attempting to prevent destroying the shoes, but there are other negatives, such as paying royalties to Ye, being dishonest if the shoes are restitched, and expected resales if given to needy individuals due to their high market value.

The company has other Ye-related issues. U.S. investors sued Adidas for not limiting financial losses caused by Ye’s inflammatory words and detrimental behavior, which investors say the firm knew about before the breakup. They cited Ye’s slavery and anti semitic insults to Adidas employees as proof of his negligence.

The company will fight the allegations.

What do you think Adidas should do with the Yeezy inventory?