Adidas sold its last remaining pair of Yeezy sneakers in the fourth quarter, the sportswear brand said Wednesday. This ended the process of liquidating stock from the lucrative shoe line developed with rapper Ye after their split in October 2022.
Adidas has been working to move past the Yeezy controversy since public anti-Semitic remarks by Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, led to the termination of the highly profitable partnership. The split impacted revenues and contributed to an annual loss for the company in 2023.
The U.S. market was hit the hardest, where Yeezy sneakers had been particularly popular. In its latest results, reported Wednesday, Adidas said North American sales fell 2% in 2024 “solely due to significantly lower Yeezy sales.”
The company began offloading its remaining Yeezy stock in May 2023, pledging to donate part of the proceeds to organizations fighting anti-Semitism, including the Anti-Defamation League.
In total, Adidas sold €650 million ($696 million) worth of Yeezy sneakers in 2023, generating approximately €200 million in profit. That marked a decline from the previous year when Yeezy sales brought in €750 million in revenue, with an operating profit of €300 million.
CEO Bjørn Gulden announced that Adidas has allocated €260 million from Yeezy profits for charitable donations, accounting for about half of the total operating profit from Yeezy stock sales in 2023 and 2024.
Of this amount, €200 million is held in a foundation set up by Adidas, while €60 million has already been distributed to charity organizations, Gulden said.
