Words matter. Even in the sneakers’ world. Adidas, which has thousands of Yeezy in warehouses, knows it well. It’s the outcome of the stormy collaboration with rapper and stylist Kanye West after the antisemitic phrases said in October 2022.
Thousands of Yeezy remain in warehouses
The 220-USD sneakers, created by the collaboration with West, remain in warehouses. The CEO of the German multi-national, Bjørn Gulden, doesn’t hide the brand’s difficulties. Taking Yeezy shoes off the market, as reported by Time, would equal a loss of about 1.2 billion euro. So: what to do with the sneakers? Up until a few months ago, the shoes were the desire of various consumers. Today, thanks to the words by West (creator and ambassador of the Yeezy shoes, and later suspended from IG and Twitter), the shoes have lost their appeal. Adidas had focused time and energy on the collaboration: up until the first half of 2022, Yeezy’s revenue increased compared to previous years, and ended up accounting for 7% of the company’s revenue (about 1.7 billion euro).
And now?
There a few possible solutions, seen that destroying them isn’t one. The boomerang effect in terms of environmental pollution would be the only sure thing for Adidas’ board. Among the possible paths is that of selling the Yeezy with the Adidas brand only. Or also a combination of reuse-charity approach. Yeezy shoes could become the starting basis to make other sneakers, useful for emerging designers to practice on. But they could also become part of collections to be donated to those impacted by the war and everyday conflicts around the planet.
Photo by Unspalsh / David Lezcano
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