Adidas has found a solution for the billion-dollar remaining stocks of Yeezy shoes from the ended cooperation with rapper Kanye West. They will try to sell parts of the goods and donate the proceeds to organizations that have been hurt by the statements of the scandalous rapper, announced Adidas CEO Björn Gulden at the Annual General Meeting in Fürth.
Ilka Kopplin
Business correspondent in Munich.
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Burning the goods would not have been a solution, Gulden continued. At the end of October last year, the sporting goods company ended its long-standing lucrative partnership with West, which mainly produced shoes under the Yeezy brand, and stopped selling the products.
Previously, the musician, who now calls himself Ye, had once again caused a stir with anti-Semitic and racist statements. Since then, it has been unclear what to do with the already produced goods with a sales value of more than one billion euros.
Gulden also left open on Thursday when the sale should start. This is currently being worked on, he said. We will try to find a solution in the short term. In the event of a sale of the goods, however, West would also be entitled to the agreed commissions.
Gulden once again said how important the cooperation had been for Adidas for years. In his view, West was "perhaps the most creative person" to have worked in the industry. However, it was right that the Dax group had terminated the partnership after its statements.