Adidas banks £439m in pre-orders from first batch of unsold Yeezys

The Yeezy collection was the global sportswear giant’s highly successful collaboration with rapper Kanye West, now known as Ye, which was cut short in October last year after he made antisemitic remarks on social media.

Adidas giant has reportedly received orders worth more than €508m (£439m) for 4 million pairs of trainers during the first online sale of Yeezy shoes.  

Adidas decided to sell some of its outstanding Yeezy inventory and donate a “significant share” of the proceeds to charities that combat racism and antisemitism to prevent another write-off of  €500m (£432m) after it admitted the loss of the Yeezy brand is “of course hurting us”, representing a drag on €400m (£345.7m) year on year. 

In its last trading update, the global sports brand warned that it may have its first operating loss in 31 years as it continues to deal with the aftermath of the Yeezy fallout.

At the time, Adidas chief executive Bjørn Gulden said: “Adidas has all the ingredients to be the best sports brand in the world, to grow strongly and to be a good profitable company. We just need some time; 2023 will be a bumpy year with disappointing numbers, where maximizing our short-term financial results is not our goal. It is a transition year to build a strong base for a better 2024 and a good 2025 and beyond.”