Adidas said on Wednesday that it has donated or is planning to give away more than $150 million from the sales of Yeezy shoes to pro-Israel groups after it severed ties with Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West.
The German sportswear brand had 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) worth of popular Yeezy sneakers piled up in warehouses after it broke off its partnership with Ye in October 2022 over his antisemitic and other offensive comments on social media and in interviews.
Of the 300 million euro profit it earned from the sales of Yeezy shoes last year, the company said it had given away or planned to donate over 140 million euros (about $152 million).
Adidas decided to sell some of the remaining shoes in batches, with two releases last year and another launched late last month, and donate some of the proceeds to pro-Israel groups.
While the company has made donations to the Philonise & Keeta Floyd Institute for Social Change, run by social justice advocate Philonise Floyd, the brother of George Floyd, Adidas has also made donations to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a pro-Israel non-profit organisation whose stated mission is to fight antisemitism.
Trump said he was 'Israel's best friend' amid accusations of antisemitism following his dinner with Kanye West and Nick Fuentes 👇https://t.co/6PvguPUAtJ
— The New Arab (@The_NewArab)
The group reported in January more than 3,000 antisemitic incidents committed in the three months since 7 October because the ADL broadened its definition of antisemitism to include anti-Zionist chants and slogans.
Adidas said that deciding to sell a large chunk of its Yeezy inventory and improve operations helped it earn an operating profit of 268 million euros last year, a nearly 60% plunge from the previous year.
Agencies contributed to this report
