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German sportswear manufacturing company Adidas has been struggling to sell its Yeezy inventory of over $500 million after the brand cut its ties with Kanye "Ye" West.
According to a report published by the Financial Times, the brand is trying to sell the iconic Yeezy items under its own brand name to “minimize potential losses,” and Twitter could not help but react to the news.
The news outlet reported that concerns about heavy reliance on Yeezy footwear have lingered among staff for years. It also stated that Yeezy garnered an estimated $1.8 billion or 7 percent of annual revenue for the brand, this year alone.
Twitter reactions on Adidas' not being able to sell Yeezy items
After the news of Adidas not being able to sell Yeezy worth $530 million went viral, Twitterati reacted to the situation. Several users urged the brand to donate the Yeezys to charity or people in need, while others just sided with Kanye West and mocked the brand for "trying so hard to fit in cancel culture," which led to their own financial loss.
Adidas cut ties with Kanye West for his controversial remarks
On October 25, 2022, the German manufacturer brand made an announcement via their website that they had cut ties with Kanye West following his spree of anti-Semitic comments and hate speech disseminated via his social media handle/s and interviews.
The statement read:
"Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech. Ye’s recent comments and actions have been unacceptable, hateful and dangerous, and they violate the company’s values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness.”
Sources from the brand's organization revealed to The Financial Times that in 2019, some of the brand's franchises went through monetary losses, but Yeezy did not. However, the German company denied such claims and stated that the sales increased in the spheres of basketball and fitness.
Moreover, Yeezy and all of the other partnerships existing within the corporation were investigated as part of a more formal risk management procedure.
In November 2022, the brand's finance chief Harm Ohlmeyer announced that the brand would continue selling Yeezy shoes without its name.
That is because even though the legal terms between the two parties have ended, Kanye West still owns the rights to the brand. In a statement, the brand said:
“Adidas is the sole owner of all design rights to existing products as well as previous and new colorways under the partnership.”
Kanye West owns the rights to the Yeezy name, while Adidas has the production rights to the items since they fall under its intellectual property.
West and the German brand first joined hands for Yeezy in 2015 when the star launched its first Boost 750. The brand quickly rose to fame due to West's popularity and made him a (former) billionaire.
Since then, it has produced varied accessories, clothes, footwear, etc., across genders.
