San Francisco-based Gap has announced it’s ending it partnership with Ye’s Yeezy brand. The announcement followed news that Ye (formerly Kanye West) was seeking to end his relationship with the retailer because it had failed to open Yeezy stores and took too long to place the brand in its own stores.
Gap will continue to sell existing Yeezy Gap product online and in it stores through the first half of 2023. Remaining drops include multiple fall drops plus a holiday collection.
Gap CEO Mark Breitbard announced the news in a memo sent to employees: “Simply put, while we share a vision of bringing high-quality, trend-forward, utilitarian design to all people through unique omni experiences with Yeezy Gap, how we work together to deliver this vision is not aligned, and we are deciding to wind down the partnership.”
Breitbard added, “We are moving forward incredibly proud of what we’ve built and the team that’s made it happen, and our pursuit to fortify Gap as an icon at the intersection of fashion, music and culture does not end here, it’s just the beginning.”
Gap announced its partnership with Yeezy in June 2020. They agreed to a 10-year deal with an option to renew after five years. Gap had high hopes for Gap Yeezy estimating it would generate $1 billion in annual sales by its fifth year of operation.
