The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Adidas AG improved its guidance for the year after starting to sell its inventory of Yeezy sneakers from a cancelled partnership with the rapper and designer Kanye West.
The German sports company expects to report an operating loss of €450 million ($499 million) in 2023, it said in a statement on Monday. That’s based on its initial batch of Yeezy product sales, and future Yeezy sales could further improve the company’s results, it said.
Adidas previously warned that it could post an operating loss of €700 million if it had to write off all existing Yeezy inventory.
In May, Adidas decided to begin selling its pile of Yeezy shoes left over from its defunct partnership with West, who now goes by Ye. The company has pledged to donate a “significant amount” of the proceeds to charities that work to fight discrimination and hate speech.
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Adidas terminated its deal with Yeezy in October after Ye made a series of antisemitic remarks, leaving about €1.2 billion worth of sneakers in limbo.
Chief executive officer Bjorn Gulden, who took over in January, has also been ramping up production of the classic Samba sneakers to meet high demand and is pushing to expand in China.
By Tim Loh
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Adidas Swamped With $565 Million in Orders for Unsold Yeezy Shoes
Adidas got orders worth more than €508 million ($565 million) for 4 million pairs of unsold Yeezy shoes, better than the company’s “most optimistic forecast,” the Financial Times reported on Monday.
The online fashion retailer plans to update China’s securities regulator on the change of the initial public offering venue and file with the London Stock Exchange as soon as this month, a person with knowledge of the matter said.
The company, under siege from Arkhouse Management Co. and Brigade Capital Management, doesn’t need the activists when it can be its own, writes Andrea Felsted.
As the German sportswear giant taps surging demand for its Samba and Gazelle sneakers, it’s also taking steps to spread its bets ahead of peak interest.
A profitable, multi-trillion dollar fashion industry populated with brands that generate minimal economic and environmental waste is within our reach, argues Lawrence Lenihan.