After many months of deliberations, Adidas has now decided to sell its remaining $1 billion worth of shoes and clothing from its partnership with “Ye,” formerly Kanye West, which concluded last fall after the rapper’s series of antisemitic remarks.
Ending the collaboration between Ye and Adidas led to the sportswear brand’s first loss in 31 years. It also inspired shareholders to file suit.
CEO Bjørn Gulden said, “Burning the goods is not the solution. … What we are trying to do now over time is to sell parts of this merchandise and donate money to the organizations [that were] hurt by Kanye’s statements.”
If Adidas cannot sell the Ye products, then it faces a $700 million loss. One notable downside of the plan is that Ye will still receive 15% of sales.
Meanwhile, this week Ye’s restarted presidential campaign took another internal hit with his returned campaign manager Milo Yiannopoulos accused by the outgoing campaign treasurer of breaking campaign finance laws.