Source: Peter Dazeley / Getty
Whether you’re copping or boycotting, the adidas Yeezy restocks have been a massive success for the three-stripe brand as they’ve been moving inventory like hotcakes. But when Foot Locker was offered the chance to partake in the sales bonanza, they passed.
According to Complex, the higher ups at Foot Locker wanted no parts of the Yeezy restock happening over the last few weeks for fear of backlash from people who called out adidas for continuing to do business with Kanye West after his antisemitic rants. While there really hasn’t been outcry over the restock due to adidas promising to donate some of the profits to anti-hate charities, Foot Locker wasn’t taking any chances in today’s cancel culture climate and turned down the opportunity to rake in some big money.
Complex reports:
Sneaker industry sources tell Complex that Foot Locker had originally planned to take on stock of Yeezys but later decided against it. Foot Locker, the sources say, was afraid of the backlash that selling shoes associated with West, who now goes by Ye, could generate. The retailer also ran into difficulties trying to integrate a charity aspect into its sale of Yeezys, sources said.
Foot Locker did not respond to multiple requests for comment and Adidas did not provide a comment.
Even when word spread that adidas was planning on selling off its remaining inventory, there wasn’t much backlash, if any, following the announcement. We’re lowkey surprised that Foot Locker was too scared to carry the merchandise, but it is what it is.
The news comes on the heels of adidas confirming that once they’re done selling off their remaining inventory of Yeezy merchandise, they’ll never restock or sell any Yeezy silhouette again. With that being said, you know sneakerheads and collectors will be gobbling up any remaining Yeezy drops that adidas has going forward. The proof is in the pudding as adidas has bagged hundreds of millions of dollars with their Yeezy restocks.
Still, Foot Locker is standing by the statement they released last year at the height of the controversy and isn’t interested in generating any kind of backlash regardless of the amount of money that’s on the table.
More from Complex:
“Foot Locker, Inc. does not tolerate any form of antisemitism, or hateful and discriminatory behavior,” a spokesperson said then. “While we remain a partner with Adidas and carry a wide assortment of their collections, we will not be supporting any future Yeezy product drops, and we have instructed our retail operators to pull any existing product from our shelves and digital sites.”
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