Adidas to sell Yeezy stock and donate to charity
Adidas is to sell some of the stock from its defunct Yeezy partnership with rapper Kanye West and donate part of the proceeds to charity.
The German sportswear giant has been in a predicament over the Yeezy stock since it cut ties with West over his anti-Semitic comments late last year, with the controversy weighing on its stock and hitting its bottom line.
Millions of Yeezy brand shoes with a retail value of 1.2 billion euros are sitting in storage after their sale was put on hold.
Their value in the resale market has rocketed since Adidas stopped producing them, with some models more than doubling in price.
Addressing investors in the southern German town of Fuerth after the debacle contributed to the company’s first annual loss in 31 years, chief executive Björn Gulden said it had yet to be determined when and how the planned sale would proceed.
“What we are trying to do now over time is to sell some of this merchandise … burning the goods would not be a solution,” he said, adding the proceeds would be donated to international organisations that West, who changed his name to Ye in 2021, had harmed with his comments.
Gulden said the company had decided against donating the sneakers to avoid them reaching the market in a roundabout way.
By selling some of the stock, the company is potentially minimising a $700 million loss this year, but it is unclear how much stock will be sold and what proportion of the proceeds will be donated.
Shares in Adidas were up 2% at 1245 GMT.
