Adidas brings in £345m from the first Yeezy sale - with some to go to anti-hate groups

Adidas is trying to sell off its Yeezy stock after cutting ties with Kanye West. Credit: AP

Adidas brought in 400 million euros (£344.82 million) from the first release of Yeezy trainers since the brand cut ties with Kanye West.

The German sportswear maker is trying to offload its Yeezy stock and donate part of the profits to groups fighting antisemitism and other forms of hate, after brand creator Kanye West used derogatory language.

The June batch of shoes sold out and helped the company reach an operating profit of 176 million euros (£151.93m) in the second quarter. Adidas said this was higher than it originally planned on Thursday.

A second sale started on Wednesday.

Rapper Kanye West speaks during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House with President Donald Trump. Credit: AP

After Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, made antisemitic and other offensive comments, the company ended its partnership with the rapper in October.

Since then, Adidas said it wanted to dispose of the 1.2 billion euros worth of the high-end shoes in a responsible way.

“We will continue to carefully sell off more of the existing Yeezy inventory,” said CEO Bjørn Gulden, who took over in January.

“This is much better than destroying and writing off the inventory and allows us to make substantial donations to organizations like the Anti-Defamation League, the Philonise & Keeta Floyd Institute for Social Change and Robert Kraft’s Foundation to Combat Antisemitism,” Gulden said.

Adidas has already handed over 10 million euros to the groups and expected to give an additional 100 million euros.

Adidas had around £948 million worth Yeezy shoes. Credit: AP

It is hoped further donations will be possible depending on how future sales go, Chief Financial Officer Harm Ohlmeyer said.

Several Jewish civic leaders contacted by The Associated Press said they weren’t planning to buy a pair of Yeezys themselves but generally welcomed the plan to support anti-hate organisations.

They added the company was trying to make the best of a bad situation.

Adidas CEO Mr Gulden said the Yeezy sales are "of course also helping both our cash flow and general financial strength.”

The first sale unloaded roughly 20% to 25% of the Yeezy trainers that were left stacked up in warehouses.

They contributed 150 million euros of Adidas' 176 million euros in operating earnings in the April-to-June quarter.

CFO Mr Ohlmeyer, however, cautioned that the Yeezy contribution was smaller than the number made it seem because it did not include many of the company's costs.

Adidas also warned the first sale included the highest-priced shoes and sold out completely.

It wasn't clear whether the remaining releases would see similar price levels and demand, according to the brand.

The end of the Ye partnership put Adidas in a precarious position because of the huge popularity of the Yeezy line.

But it faced growing pressure to end ties last year as other companies cut off the rapper.

Adidas will only pay Ye what they are contractually obliged to, from the trainers sales.

Yeezy revenue from June was “largely in line" with sales seen in the second quarter of last year, Adidas said.

The boost has allowed the company to cut its expectations for this year's operating loss to 450 million euros from 700 million euros predicted previously.

Adidas said the donations to anti-hate groups were not a fixed percentage of sales, but that it had discussed with the recipients what an appropriate amount would be.

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