Adidas CEO Bjørn Gulden announced in an investors meeting the company’s annual meeting on Thursday that the company has chosen to sell rather than destroy the Yeezy shoes leftover after the company severed ties with Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) in October 2022. The company has stated the shoes ae valued at approximately $1.3 billion. While Adidas no longer has a partnership with Ye, the music creative and CEO still will be entitled to his 15% royalty on each shoe sold.
Some portion of the sales of the shoes will be donated to organizations advocating for people who were negatively impacted by Ye’s antisemtic statements.
The company hasn’t provided any details on timing or pricing of shoes, much less information on what silhouettes are included in inventory. It also didn’t provide details whether it will sell the shoes solely through its own direct channels or provide some to its wholesale partners.
Adidas’ stock was buoyed low-single digits by the news. The brand has been on an upswing as of late, aided by high demand for Sambas and positive response to the debut of Fear of God Athletics with the company’s stock up approximately 13 percent since the start of the year.
