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American singer and rapper Kanye, now known as Ye, has officially ended his partnership with Gap. West’s lawyer, Nicholas Gravante Jr., sent a letter to the American retailer, noting the reasons for the termination of Kanye's deal. Gravante noted that the retailer did not meet certain contractual obligations. Some of those included failing to sell certain Yeezy clothes in Gap stores last year.
As per Gravante, the retailer also failed to open stores that would sell only Yeezy clothing. Gravante also said that Ye will now focus on opening his own Yeezy clothing stores, and has plans to "go at it alone."
West’s lawyer told CNBC that his client notified Gap of its concerns in August and gave the company 30 days to respond. The company, according to Gravante, took no action on Ye's concerns.
“Yeezy notified Gap of its concerns in August and gave the company a contractually-designated 30 days to cure its breaches.”
In a statement to CBS, Gravante said:
“Ye had diligently tried to work through these issues with Gap both directly and through counsel (but) he has gotten nowhere. Gap left him no choice but to terminate their agreement.”
Last year, when the deal was announced, the estimated value of Kanye’s Yeezy Gap collection was set at $970 million.
Gap, in an email, acknowledged that the agreement with Kanye was ending. Gap brand president Mark Breitbard, in an email to his employees, wrote:
“While we share a vision of bringing high-quality, trend-forward, utilitarian design to all people through unique omni experiences with Yeezy Gap, how we work together to deliver this vision is not aligned. And we are deciding to wind down the partnership.”
Kanye’s Yeezy Gap line nearly made $1 billion in sales in the first year
Kanye’s partnership with Gap was announced in June 2020, and was supposed to last for ten years. Yeezy Gap noted that it would make men’s, women’s and children’s wear at accessible price points. The line was first available in 2021. The initial products from Yeezy Gap sold out rapidly and recorded the most sales in a day for any Gap product. West-owned Yeezy would receive royalties and equity from Gap sales.
Yeezy Gap was hoping to generate $1 billion in annual sales. The company originally said Yeezy Gap merchandise was expected to appear in stores in 2021. However, the release date kept getting pushed back. Gap was supposed to sell 40% of the Yeezy Gap clothing line in brick and mortar stores during the last two quarters of 2021. Gap was also supposed to open five retail stores featuring Yeezy products by July 31, 2023. However, the company is yet to open a store.
Gap shares fell nearly 4% Thursday. Last month, the company reported a $49 million net loss during its second quarter earnings call. The company also reported a 8% drop in revenue to $3.86 billion, citing low sales from its Old Navy brand,
According to Forbes, only two products were released in the first 18 months. These included a puffer jacket and a sweatshirt that were sold online only.
Kanye said Gap copied designs from his high end line Yeezy Gap Engineered by Balenciaga
Kanye has previously accused Gap of copying designs from his higher-end line Yeezy Gap Engineered by Balenciaga. He also claimed Adidas copied Yeezy slide designs. Ye told Bloomberg that it was time for him to “go at it alone.” He announced that he would end his partnerships with Gap and Adidas after the contracts ran out.
He told Bloomberg,
“I made the companies money. The companies made me money. We created ideas that will change apparel forever. Like the round jacket, the foam runner, the slides that have changed the shoe industry. Now it’s time for Ye to make the new industry. No more companies standing in between me and the audience.”
He also claimed in an Instagram video last week that the companies copied his designs. Gap plans to continue selling new Yeezy Gap products that have already been created, including a collection for the holiday season, through the first half of next year.
