Adidas Is Reportedly Stuck With $530 Million USD Worth of YEEZYs

Since adidas terminated its partnership and relationship with the artist formerly known as Kanye West, the German sportswear giant is reportedly sitting on over half a billion dollars worth of YEEZYs.

In a recent report from the Financial Times, the publication has indicated that adidas is currently scrambling to find a way to sell the remaining $530 million USD worth of YEEZYs. Since parting ways with Ye in October due to the artist’s antisemitic remarks and hate speech, stakeholders expressed concerns about adidas’ heavy reliance on YEEZY sneakers to bring in revenues. At the end of 2022 alone, YEEZYs make up an estimated $1.8 billion USD in annual revenue for the footwear giant, which accounts for 7% of their total.

Insiders from adidas told Financial Times that while some of its other franchises suffered losses, Yeezy did not. While the company has pushed back on such claims and has noted that its financial numbers actually rose for its fitness and basketball products, all of the partnerships within the company, including with YEEZY, have been reviewed as a part of a formal risk management process. The decision to cut ties with Yeezy has caused a sales plunge in China, causing profit warnings throughout the company. In terms of other partnerships, adidas is currently “re-evaluating” its partnership with Balenciaga, perhaps gearing up to take another hit as it pushes pause on all its co-created product launches.

Adidas has recently said that it plans to bring back certain YEEZY products including the YEEZY 500 model next year without the branding. It remains to be seen how adidas will rid its YEEZY stock.

In other footwear news, here is an official look at the Jordan Zion 2 “Barely Green.”