After severing ties with rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, Adidas has announced that it will release a second batch of expensive Yeezy trainers. The German sportswear company hopes to sell the unsold pairs of shoes while also making donations to organizations that combat antisemitism.
The online sale will begin on Wednesday on Adidas’ website and mobile apps. It follows a previous round of sales in May.
The Yeezy Boost 350 V2, 500, and 700 as well as the Yeezy Slide and Foam RNR will be among the models that are going to be offered. After Ye made antisemitic and other abusive comments online and in interviews in October, the company severed connections with him.
Adidas was left with Yeezys worth €1.2 billion (£1 billion) that had not been sold and was looking for a legal way to get rid of them.
Adidas CEO Bjorn Gulden stated in May that the simplest way to handle the unsold inventory and make a difference was to sell the well-liked footwear and donate a portion of the proceeds.
He claimed that the business had spoken to non-governmental organizations and others who had been harmed by Ye’s remarks and deeds.
The Anti-Defamation League and the Philonise & Keeta Floyd Institute for Social Change, which is run by social justice activist and George Floyd’s brother Philonise Floyd, will each receive a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the Yeezy shoes.
Adidas said it will incorporate blue square pins created by Robert Kraft’s Foundation to Combat Antisemitism on shoes it sells directly in North America as a sign of unity in rejecting antisemitism.
Adidas declined to provide information regarding the number of shoes that will be released for purchase and the percentage of sales that would be donated.
When asked if Ye would earn royalties from sales, the business would only respond, “We will honor our contractual duties and pursue our rights but will not reveal any additional specifics.
The company reported on Monday that the first Yeezy shoe sale improved its early second-quarter financial performance and helped it change its revenue decline forecast for the year from a high single-digit decline to a mid-single-digit decline.
Instead of a loss of €700 million (£598 million), that would still translate into an operating deficit of €450 million this year.
Adidas stated that it anticipated future Yeezy sales to further enhance its profitability when it released its first-half financial results on Thursday.
