Source: Jeremy Moeller / Getty
For a minute there it looked like adidas was stuck with half a billion dollars worth of unsold Yeezy sneakers, but after ultimately releasing the recalled stash to little or no backlash, the three-stripe brand just cashed in big time.
According to Nice Kicks, the end of May restock of unsold Yeezy boosts, slides and runners proved to be fruitful as not only did the sneakers sell out but at the end of the day earned adidas a whopping $565 million. Looks like some antisemitic rhetoric wasn’t enough to dismay sneakerheads from copping what could be the final pairs of Yeezy footwear from a big name brand such as adidas. Whether it was for the toe, for the flip or simply for collection purposes, heads went out and bought whatever adidas was selling this past May 31.
Nice Kicks reports:
Although the value of the orders received was more than $565 million, the net sales were lower than previous drops. By the time adidas had dropped Ye in 2022, Yeezy had generated $1.8 billion in sales and over $770 billion in operating profit.
Even with the success of this Yeezy restock, adidas still expects to have its first operating loss in 31 years. The brand’s quarterly results will be reported on August 3, 2023.
“adidas will probably have to update their revenue and profit guidance to reflect the initial sale of Yeezy inventory,” said Thomas Chauvet, head of luxury and sporting goods research at Citibank via Financial Times.
The company is currently engaged in ongoing discussions regarding the amount to be donated to various charities, according to sources. As a first step, five charities in the US and China, including the Anti-Defamation League and the Philonise and Keeta Floyd Institute for Social Change, have been selected. However, no final decision has been made regarding the total donation, with discussions centering on potentially contributing over $8.5 million across these five charities.
Kanye meanwhile hasn’t said what he’d do with his cut of the profits, though we really do doubt it’ll go to anti-hate charities. But hey, you never know.
Earlier this year, adidas cut ties with Kanye West after he went on an unprovoked antisemitic crusade and basically anointed the Jewish community his ops for whatever reason he made up in his mind. With backlash mounting and different businesses and brands cutting ties with Yeezy, adidas finally followed suit and tore up their contract with the embattled rapper.
After recalling all the remaining Yeezy merchandise and attire from participating stores such as Foot Locker and Finish Line, it seemed like adidas had no choice but to sit on a half a billion dollars worth of unsold sneakers. It wasn’t until they announced that they would give all the money made from potential sales to charity that they decided to move forward with Yeezy Day 2023 and sell part of their remaining stock.
With the success of their May 31 selloff, rumors are that adidas will hold another Yeezy Day sometime in August to continue to sell their remaining items. Nothing has been set in concrete. If they do, expect them to take home another big bag as the streets obviously still have an appetite for Yeezy kicks.
What do y’all think of the big haul adidas pulled off? Let us know in the comments section below.
