The sale of the last shoes from Adidas’ ending collaboration with rapper and designer Ye (formerly Kanye West) is apparently a commercial success. After repeated anti-Semitic statements such as “I like Hitler” or “I love Nazis” from an increasingly erratic partner, Adidas ended its collaboration with him last October. Since then, the last collection – shoes with a value of around 1.2 billion euros – has been stored in Adidas department stores around the world. A small time bomb for the Adidas balance sheets.
This explosive device can apparently be considered largely defused if you a recent report Financial Times may believe. This reports, citing Adidas insiders, that the first batch of Yeezys – that’s the name of the brand under which the Ye shoes were sold – was apparently brought out to the public quite successfully. At the request of the SZ, Adidas did not want to confirm the report: “Since we are in the “quiet period” before the publication of our quarterly results on August 3rd, we would like to refrain from commenting at the moment.”
Final sale ran via the Adidas app
From May 31 to June 2, Adidas had sold 15 models from the collection, exclusively via its own “Confirmed” app. According to insiders, the shoes sold much better than expected. Within just three days, Adidas received orders worth more than 500 million euros. As usual, demand has varied between models and sizes, but overall sales seem to have been surprisingly good.
Adidas boss Björn Gulden announced in March that the company would probably not make a profit with the rapper’s last collection. Adidas had announced a loss of up to 700 million euros in the event that no products from the collection could be sold at all. It is unclear to what extent this forecast can now be accepted. There should be a more detailed overview at the presentation of the half-year figures on August 3rd.
It is quite possible that some people wanted to buy the shoes precisely because of the controversy.
(Photo: Keith Ewenson/Adidas)
According to the FT, part of the proceeds from the sale should be used to finally dissolve the partnership. Severance payments and lawyers have to be paid and production facilities have to be closed. In addition, Kanye West also receives royalties for the current collection, i.e. remuneration that depends on its success. The company also said it would donate a “significant portion of the proceeds” to organizations fighting racism and anti-Semitism.
Tempting: sneakers with a dark history
Shred or Sell? Whether this question, i.e. whether one even wants to sell the shoes of a Trump-supporting designer who repeatedly makes anti-Semitic statements, was ever actually asked, should remain a secret of the Adidas management team. Maybe they just waited at the company headquarters until enough grass had grown over the matter.
The company had long pondered what to do with the controversial footwear, before doing the only thing that made business sense: to sell them. It is quite possible that there were sneaker fans who decided not to buy the current models due to the controversy surrounding the rapper’s statements. But it is just as possible that there were buyers who wanted to buy the scandalous shoes for that very reason. Because sneakers are much more than clothing today, they are a status symbol and collector’s items. While anti-Semitic rhetoric for the former might only be a selling point for a very small audience, controversy definitely helps with the latter. The shoes have a history, albeit a dark one.