Adidas has officially closed the Yeezy chapter, selling the last available pair of the iconic sneakers. This marks the end of its partnership with Kanye West, which was terminated in 2022 following the rapper’s series of anti-Semitic remarks.
The decision to cut ties with West left Adidas with an unsold Yeezy inventory worth approximately $1.3 billion (£1 billion). The fallout also had severe financial consequences, leading to the company’s first annual loss in over 30 years.
In 2023, Adidas announced it would offload the remaining Yeezy stock, donating a portion of the proceeds to organizations like the Anti-Defamation League and the Robert Kraft Foundation to Combat Anti-Semitism. CEO Bjorn Gulden defended the strategy, stating, "This solution is much better than destroying the products and writing off the stock."
Adidas and Kanye West first collaborated in 2015, launching the Yeezy Boost 750 on Valentine's Day. Over the years, the partnership proved highly lucrative, solidifying Yeezy as a global success. However, in its 2024 financial report, Adidas revealed a 2% decline in North American revenue, attributing it primarily to the drop in Yeezy sales.
