Kanye West’s Yeezy brand continues to be a significant source of income for Adidas, even after the company terminated its partnership with the controversial mogul.
On Thursday, the shoe company announced its second-quarter fiscal report, which saw a bump in revenue. CEO Bjørn Gulden credited the sale of some of its remaining Yeezy inventory for the windfall.
“The operating profit of [$194] million was substantially higher than our initial plans,” he said. “The sale of the first part of the Yeezy inventory did, of course, help both our top and bottom line in the quarter…The sale of the Yeezy product positively impacted Adidas’ operating profit by an incremental amount of around [$165] million in Q2.”
Adidas cut ties with Ye in October 2022 amid the rapper’s controversial anti-Semitic comments. The company announced its decision on its website, noting it “does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech.”
Post-split, Adidas admitted it suffered a significant decline in sales and decided to sell off some of the leftover Yeezy inventory. According to the brand’s website, “A portion from the sale of these items will be donated in support of the fight for discrimination, hate, racism, and anti-Semitism.”
