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Adidas found itself facing a billion-dollar problem after Kanye (a.k.a. “Ye”) West decided to share some Very Problematic Opinions a couple of years ago, but it appears there’s still a sizeable market for Yeezy apparel based on how much money it plans on donating after cutting some of its losses.
In 2013, Adidas struck gold when it decided to partner with Kanye West, who whipped sneakerheads into a frenzy thanks to the release of the Yeezy Boost 750s.
A couple of years later, the rapper completed his transition from fashion influencer to fashion designer with the debut of the military-inspired aesthetic that served as the foundation for what was dubbed “Yeezy Season 1,” and he continued to pump out shoes and apparel in conjunction with Adidas.
However, that relationship firmly came to an end in 2022 after West rattled off a string of anti-Semitic comments online while boldly claiming Adidas was powerless to end its relationship with him over the matter—a bluff the German athletic company quickly called.
It may have been the correct move from a moral standpoint, but it was a costly one from a business perspective. West was a cash cow for the brand that found itself sitting on a ton of unsold Yeezy merch and predicted it stood to lose over $1.2 billion if it couldn’t figure out a way to address the issue.
In 2023, Adidas revealed it had come up with a solution when it announced its plan to start selling its remaining Yeezy stock while pledging to donate a “significant amount” of the proceeds to anti-hate groups like the Anti-Defamation League and an institute started in the memory of George Floyd.
According to The Associated Press, Adidas has run three separate Yeezy sales that have generated at least €300 million (~$328 million) in profit and says it plans to donate €140 million ($152 million) of those proceeds to the aforementioned groups in the near future.
There’s a good chance that donation will end up getting even bigger when everything is said and done, as the outlet notes Adidas still has around €250 million (~$274 million) worth of Yeezy shoes in its possession.