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Kanye West and Walmart are embroiled in a legal battle once again. The rapper recently sued the US retailer for selling a rip-off version of his Yeezy Foam Sneakers.
According to reports, West filed a lawsuit against Walmart in Los Angeles court on June 24th, 2021. The billionaire musician claimed the mega retailer has produced an exact copy of the popular Yeezy sneakers. The company is also selling it at a much lower price than the original product.
The latest lawsuit comes months after Walmart filed a “Notice of Opposition” against Kanye’s brand for its new logo being identical to that of Walmart’s. The first set of Yeezy sneakers was established by Kanye in collaboration with Nike back in 2009 before he moved on to collaborate with Adidas.
Kanye West sues Walmart for selling Yeezy Foam Runners rip-off
Created and designed by the billionaire musician himself, the Yeezy Foam Runners debuted in 2019. Kanye’s daughter North West was the first to sport the brand new shoes. The product was made available to the public last year and was immediately sold out upon launch.
According to TMZ, Kanye and his brand have claimed that Walmart’s rip-off has left customers confused about the authenticity of the product. The singer has also accused the retail corporation of costing his brand millions in damages.
As per the claims, Walmart is selling the "knockoff" product for $25 compared to the $75 the original Yeezy Foam Runners cost. This is allegedly affecting sales of the original Yeezy sneakers.
According to the New York Post, the lawsuit blames Walmart for “trading off” Kanye’s brand:
“Walmart is flagrantly trading off of his and Yeezy brand’s popularity by offering for sale an imitation version of the Yeezy Foam Runner. The Yeezy brand is worth ‘billions’ of dollars, and the potential loss from the imitation shoes in the ‘hundreds of millions.'”
In response to the lawsuit, a Walmart representative has stated that the company is currently reviewing the issue:
"The product referenced in the complaint is not sold by Walmart, but rather by third party Marketplace sellers. We take allegations like this seriously and are reviewing the claim. We will respond in court as appropriate after we have been served with the complaint."
The latest issue comes days after Kanye dropped a much-awaited puffer jacket from the Yeezy x GAP collaboration. The jacket was available for pre-order on Gap’s official website but the presale has now been closed. Shipments are all set to begin around fall this year.
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