Following months of questions regarding what adidas would do with $1.3 billion worth of Yeezy product left over after cutting ties with Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, adidas has finally announced a solution. CEO Bjorn Gulden said Thursday that the company will sell “parts” of the stock and donate part of proceeds to charity.
“What we are trying to do over time is to sell parts of these goods and then donate to organizations that help us and that also have been hurt by Kanye’s statements,” Gulden told investors, according to a report from Reuters. “Burning is not the solution.”
The exact method and timeline for the sale of Yeezy products remains unclear.
adidas had floated other ideas for managing the stockpile of Yeezy products, including donating the sneakers directly to charitable organizations. The German sportswear giant moved on from the idea over concerns the sneakers could end up in the wrong hands and hit the secondary market. Destroying the inventory was also suggested, but that raised environmental concerns. Once the products do go on sale, adidas will still have to pay Ye his 15 percent cut from each sneaker sold, as Gulden confirmed the company would need “to pay royalties, of course.”
Since the fallout from West's antisemitic remarks in October, adidas found itself in a precarious financial situation. Not only has the company announced it would face its first operating loss in 31 years if it were to write off all of the Yeezy inventory, but adidas is currently facing a lawsuit from investors over claims the company withheld information regarding Ye’s erratic behavior.
More information should be coming to light in the following weeks regarding how and when adidas intends to sell parts of the Yeezy inventory. In the meantime, check out all of the Yeezys adidas could be releasing and keep it locked to our Twitter and the Sole Retriever mobile app.
