Adidas to Continue Selling Kanye West's Shoe Design Without Yeezy Brand to Avoid Losses

• Adidas stated that it intended to offer sneakers with the same design but without rapper Ye's branding to make up for the majority of lost Yeezy earnings
• Newly appointed Chief Executive Officer Bjorn Gulden will face a significant challenge in containing the harm caused by terminating the profitable line in January
• Addidas ended its sneaker partnership with Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, about a month ago because of his anti-semitic comments

Adidas has announced that it will continue selling Kanye West's Yeezy shoes but without his branding.

Is Adidas avoiding losses?

Adidas ended its sneaker partnership with Ye last month after the musician’s anti-Semitic tirade.

According to CNN, Adidas will continue to sell the lucrative sneaker and apparel line, stripped of the Yeezy name and branding.

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The company said it was the sole owner of all Yeezy line design rights for both existing and future colours and versions.

Selling the sneakers under Adidas’s own branding would save the company about R5 billion in royalty payments and marketing fees.

“Going forward, we will leverage the existing inventory with the exact plans being developed as we speak,” Adidas's finance chief said.

The Yeezy line was a key product for Adidas, and the fallout has hurt the company.

According to Morgan Stanley, Yeezy products generated nearly R34 billion in sales last year for Adidas, accounting for 8% of the company’s total sales.

The line also helped Adidas get shelf space at major retailers and brought new customers into the stores who purchased other Adidas merchandise.

The company said Wednesday that ending the partnership cost Adidas more than R4 Billion in profit and over R8 Billion in lost revenue.

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Adidas said it was appointing a new CEO, tapping the head of Puma to succeed outgoing CEO, Kasper Rorsted.

Norwegian Bjørn Gulden will become CEO of Adidas next year, and he will have to find ways to replace Yeezy's sales and turn around the brand. Adidas’ stock has dropped around 80% in the last two years.

Kanye blames Adidas for copying designs

In August, the rapper and the retailer had been involved in a back-and-forth, with the retailer claiming it was copying his designs.

The award-winning rapper claimed Adidas made designs, picked colours and even named brands without his approval.

Kanye and Adidas have a partnership that was supposed to lapse in 2026, and fans had asked him to go solo in production.

Source: TUKO.co.ke