Adidas is considering writing off its remaining inventory of Yeezy merchandise, valued at $320 million (AU$500m) by the company, chief executive Bjorn Gulden said Wednesday—as the German footwear firm separates from the brand designed by Kanye West, who lost his partnership with Adidas following a string of antisemitic remarks.
Big Number
$374.7 million. That’s how much revenue Adidas generated from Yeezy sales through the third quarter. Yeezy merchandise generated about $437 million in revenue in the second quarter, which Adidas said was in line with Yeezy sales during the same quarter last year. The company generated $1.28 billion from Yeezy sales through all of last year.
Key Background
Adidas ended its partnership with West last year after the rapper made a series of antisemitic comments on social media. The company announced earlier this year it would start selling some of its remaining Yeezy inventory—valued then at $1.28 billion—and donate a “significant amount” of sales to organizations combating racism and antisemitism.
Adidas previously explored a write-off of its remaining Yeezy inventory in August, which the sportswear firm estimated the write-off would cost the company an additional $437 million. Adidas similarly estimated its “discontinuation of the regular Yeezy business” cost the company about $437 million in the first half of 2023. A write-off would reduce the value of the brand in Adidas’s financial statements.
This article was first published on forbes.com and all figures are in USD.
