Adidas has been having a bit of a problem as of late, especially as it pertains to Kanye West and Yeezy. Firstly, we must set the stage in order to explain the problem correctly. It all began many months ago as Ye was looking to shed himself off his Adidas deal. Overall, his methods of doing so were highly debated, and for the most part, people did not care for them. His anti-Semitic rants were uncalled for, and it put the sneaker brand in a bad position. Ultimately, they decided to get rid of Kanye, once and for all.
However, the brand opened up a can of worms by noting that they will continue to sell Ye's designs, albeit with new branding. Now, they have a huge branding conundrum on their hands, and there is no telling if fans will like to purchase these shoes without "Yeezy" written on them. Furthermore, Adidas was left with a massive inventory of Yeezy sneakers that they aren't sure what to do with. In fact, they have $534 million worth of them.
Adidas Has A Problem
According to TMZ, the three-stripes brand is now very concerned about this. During a recent call, the brand noted that it could lose upwards of $1.3 billion in 2023 alone. Mostly, they are putting the blame squarely on the shoulders of Kanye. Without him, they have lost a ton of momentum. Consequently, Adidas CEO Bjorn Gulden is calling this a transitional year for the company. While this may be the case, it is definitely not off to a good start.
Overall, this is a bad situation for Adidas, albeit one that they had very little agency over. With Ye acting erratically, they needed to cut ties. Now, however, Adidas must find a new way to attract consumers, that does not involve Yeezy. Let us know what you think about this situation, in the comments below. Additionally, stay tuned to HNHH for the latest news and updates from around the sneaker world.
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