Adidas Is Donating $120Million From First YEEZY Restock to Charity; Will No Longer Sell New YEEZY Designs
The brand highlights their continued commitment to combatting discrimination and hate.
[Update 7 Aug 2023] In addition to what was previously announced, adidas CEO Bjørn Gulden has further go on to explain that the brand will not be selling new YEEZY designs in the future.
“The Yeezy product is something that he created, he’s the inventor of it and we have been his partner. To take his designs and sell them off later, which we technically legally could do, is not part of our strategy,” said Gulden.
He further elaborated that the brand is now focused on limiting the damage, getting rid of the current inventory, and building a business without YEEZYs in the near future.
That seems to be the end for the adidas YEEZY line. Stay tuned for any future updates, if any.
As the month of August rolls into full swing, adidas’ plan to sell off all of it’s remaining YEEZY stock has bore fruit for the German footwear giant, with more YEEZYs set to drop this month. The Three Stripes announced their 2023 Q3 earnings call today, during which CEO Bjørn Gulden announced that YEEZY sales have generated over US$437 million in revenue, and US$164 million in operating profit for the brand.
He further stated that the YEEZY sales in May and June accounted for around 20 to 25% of Adidas’ remaining YEEZY stock. While it’s not made apparent how much is being released for this month’s wave, he elaborated by saying that the brand will “continue to carefully sell off more of the existing YEEZY inventory.”
adidas’ chief financial officer, Harm Ohlmeyer, also took the opportunity to reinstate adidas’ promise to donate a big part of the proceeds to charities. In total, over US$10 million has been donated to several beneficiaries, with named ones being the Anti-Defamation League, the Philonise & Keeta Floyd Institute for Social Change and Robert Kraft’s Foundation to Combat Antisemitism. He further stated that the brand will continue their donations with an additional US$120 million as a result of recent YEEZY sales.
adidas also announced during the call that blue square pins will be included with YEEZY sneakers sold via their website in North America, highlighting Foundation to Combat Antisemitism’s #StandUpToJewishHate campaign that launched earlier this year.
In other adidas-related news, check out the adidas Adifom Supernova.
Source: Complex