Unsold stock has been in storage since the sportswear brand cut ties with Kanye West following a string of hateful comments.
Today, adidas has announced that it will sell the unsold sneakers and donate some of the money to charities to support those harmed by the rapper’s comments.
Adidas has been left with the problem of how to deal with unsold Yeezy products since it severed ties with West following his anti-Semitic outbursts in October last year.
Rumours began to circulate on how the brand would deal with the issue, with some suggesting they could burn unsold items. According to The Guardian, unsold Yeezy stock has been valued at £1 billion and has been sitting in storage after being pulled from shelves last year. The decision to sell Yeezy trainers was something Three Stripes CEO Bjørn Gulden described to investors as the wrong move.
In a press release issued last week Gulden announced a decline in lifestyle sales, adding, “The loss of Yeezy [is] of course hurting us”. The news comes at a time when revenues for the brand are down 9% in Greater China and 20% in North America.
A statement released last year saw adidas describe Ye’s comments as “unacceptable, hateful and dangerous”. It stated that the rapper’s remarks went against the “company’s values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness”.
Last year it was reported that adidas was at risk of making €700 million losses, the first decline in profits of its kind in 31 years, an announcement that left many wondering how the brand would recover.
If the goods are sold, Kanye West will be entitled to a previously agreed 15% of turnover for the products.