Adidas has sold the last remaining pair of Yeezy trainers – more than two years after cutting ties with Kanye West.
The sportswear giant distanced itself from the US rapper after he made a slew of antisemitic comments in 2022.
But this left the company with a mountain of stock, and millions of Yeezy shoes with an estimated retail value of £1bn left sitting in warehouses.
Ending the partnership also contributed to Adidas posting its first annual loss for more than three decades.
Back in 2023, the German brand had confirmed plans to start selling Yeezy merchandise – donating some of the proceeds to charity.
It made an operating profit of £250m from the stock that year, and a further £167m in 2024.
Contributions were made to organisations including the Anti-Defamation League and Robert Kraft’s Foundation to Combat Antisemitism.
Defending the decision to sell the stock, Adidas chief executive Bjørn Gulden had said: “This is much better than destroying and writing off the inventory.”
The partnership with West, also known as Ye, had been hugely lucrative for the brand and continues to have an impact on its bottom line.
Announcing its annual financial results on Wednesday, Adidas said North America revenues in 2024 had fallen by 2% – and this was “solely due to significantly lower Yeezy sales”.
Looking ahead, the company warned that earnings for 2025 are also forecast to be lower than expected.
Operating profits for last year stood at £1.12bn.
Adidas is looking for new growth opportunities beyond its retro trainers, which include the Samba and Gazelle collections.
And while Nike is the market leader in the US, the company says it has a “clear ambition” of being the top sportswear brand across all other markets.
Last month, West’s Yeezy online shopping platform was taken down after it began selling T-shirts adorned with swastikas.
The Nazi symbol is an image often used by the far right, and the rapper was criticised for promoting these clothes in a TV advert during the Super Bowl.
West recently deleted his X account after making a series of offensive and “hate-filled” posts.
As well as saying “I love Hitler” and “I’m a Nazi”, the 47-year-old had declared: “I’m never apologising for my Jewish comments.”
All legal proceedings between Kanye West and Adidas ended last October, when both parties reached an out-of-court settlement.
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