Adidas to sell remaining Yeezy stock

Adidas is set to sell some of its Yeezy stock and merchandise following the discontinuation of the Kanye West partnership, Sky News has reported.

According to Sky, at the group’s annual general meeting, chief executive Bjørn Gulden said that “burning the goods would not be a solution”. Gulden remarked that the firm is trying to sell some of the stock over time and that the proceeds would go to international organisations that West has harmed with his anti-semitic comments. 

The sportswear company, which has been criticised in the past for not cutting ties with West sooner, recently reported a 20% decline in North America sales during Q1 2023 which has partially been attributed to the controversy. 

In the Q1 results, the company said that it is currently sitting on a revenue of loss of €1.2bn (£1bn) if the Yeezy stock is not sold. 

According to Sky News, it is not yet determined how the sale will proceed, as well as how much of the commissions will go to West. 

With the recent sell-off announcement of the Yeezy inventory, Adidas’ would potentially minimise a loss of €700m (£609m) this year and the company’s operating profit would also further lower by an additional €500m (£435m).