By Helen Reid and Linda Pasquini
HERZOGENAURACH, Germany (Reuters) -Adidas sold its last pair of Yeezy sneakers at the end of 2024, the sportswear brand said on Wednesday, ending the process of liquidating stock of the lucrative shoe partnership with rapper Ye after splitting from him in October 2022.
Adidas has been trying to put the Yeezy affair behind it since antisemitic rants by Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, forced it to end the highly profitable partnership, denting revenues and driving the company to an annual loss in 2023.
“There is not one Yeezy shoe left, it has all been sold and that episode is behind us,” Chief Financial Officer Harm Ohlmeyer told a press conference on Wednesday after Adidas reported results.
The company has felt the loss of Yeezy particularly in the United States, where the shoes were popular. In its results on Wednesday Adidas said North America sales fell 2% in 2024, “solely due to significantly lower Yeezy sales”.
The company started selling off its remaining stock of Yeezy shoes in May 2023, pledging to donate part of the proceeds to organisations combating antisemitism, including the Anti-Defamation League.
Adidas reported it sold 650 million euros ($696 million) worth of Yeezy sneakers last year, making a profit of around 200 million euros.
The year before, Adidas made 750 million euros in revenue from Yeezy inventory, generating 300 million euros in operating profit.
The company has set aside 260 million euros for charitable donations from the proceeds of Yeezy sales, CEO Bjorn Gulden told a press conference. That amounts to about half of the operating profit Adidas made on selling off its stock of the sneakers in 2023 and 2024.
Of that, 200 million euros is held in a foundation set up by Adidas, while 60 million has already been paid out to charity organisations, Gulden said.
($1 = 0.9410 euros)
(Reporting by Helen ReidEditing by Mrigank Dhaniwala, Louise Heavens, Tomasz Janowski and Frances Kerry)
