adidas CEO Discusses Kanye's Political Views & New Beyoncé Collaboration
“It’s not something I worry about when I wake up in the morning.”
adidas CEO Kasper Rorsted recently caught up with CNBC program “Squawk Box Europe” to discuss the Herzo-based brand’s performance over the last quarter. As well as reporting these earnings — which saw a 17% rise in first-quarter profits, leading to stock prices hitting a record high — Rorsted also spoke about two of the brand’s biggest ambassadors, covering Kanye West‘s political views and the announcement of Beyoncé’s partnership with adidas.
Responding to a question about whether not he worries about what West may say, Rorsted explained that “you need to look upon what you’re signing up and I know Kanye quite well, he’s a fantastic creative force. He has his own opinions, we don’t always stand with those opinions, but there’s no doubt that for both sides it has been a great relationship and overall on the bigger picture we’ve been super happy with that relationship. We don’t always subscribe to every opinion he has, but it’s not something I worry about when I wake up in the morning. He’s been a great addition to our brand, not only in the U.S., but in China, in Russia, in Latin America.”
Speaking about Beyoncé, Rorsted went on to describe has “a great addition to our dream team” and “the most influential female in the world.” Finishing his answer, the adidas CEO explained that “these celebrities are global brands alongside Manchester United, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.” Later, on Friday morning’s earnings call, Rorsted reported that we can expect the first run of products from Beyoncé’s collaborative line later this year.
In other adidas news, the YEEZY BOOST 350 V2 “Glow-in-the-Dark” could be dropping later this month.