The cost of hate: Adidas stuck with $530 million of Ye merchandise

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Hip-hop mogul Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, is not the only one taking a huge financial hit from the fallout of his series of antisemitic remarks.

Kanye “Ye” West. Source: Twitter

Following the plunge in the rapper’s estimated net worth from more than a billion to $400 million, a recent analysis by the Financial Times shows that Ye’s former partner Adidas also faces severe financial consequences.

Adidas has $530 million worth of Ye merchandise, which it hopes to unload at a steep discount. How the shoe company will manage that remains a mystery. Adidas employees have worried for years that the shoe giant was too reliant on the Yeezy brand.

The company previously announced it expected to lose $246 million in profit this year due to canceling the arrangement with Ye. Yeezy provided Adidas with an estimated $1.7 billion in annual revenue in 2021, or 8% of the total.

Adidas also revealed it had opened an investigation into Ye after reports surfaced that he had acted inappropriately with employees, showing them explicit photos of his ex-wife Kim Kardashian.

Ye began his series of antisemitic remarks in early October and has since lost sponsorships and partnerships including with Vogue, Balenciaga, Foot Locker, Gap and J.P. Morgan.

JNS