A sign advertises Yeezy shoes made by Adidas at Kickclusive, a sneaker resale store, in Paramus, N.J., Oct. 25, 2022. Adidas forecast it may have to write off the remaining 300 million euros ($320 million) worth of Yeezy shoes left unsold after it cut ties with rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West. The company on Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023 said it will decide in the coming weeks whether or not to do a third release of the shoes next year to generate more donations to groups fighting anti semitism.(AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
By David McHugh
Adidas said it might have to write off the remaining 300 million euros ($320 million) worth of Yeezy shoes left unsold after it cut ties with rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West. The company will decide in the coming weeks whether or not to do a third release of the shoes next year to generate more donations to groups fighting antisemitism.
The shoe and sports clothing company, which cut ties with Ye in October 2022 after he made antisemitic remarks online, has sold 750 million euros worth of the shoes in two stages earlier this year through Adidas smartphone apps and its website. Part of the profits went to groups like the Anti-Defamation League and the Philonise & Keeta Floyd Institute for Social Change, run by social justice advocate Philonise Floyd, the brother of George Floyd.
The company included the possible write-off of the remaining Yeezy inventory in its outlook Wednesday for its earnings this year, narrowing its expected loss to 100 million euros from an earlier prediction of 450 million euros, thanks in part to the earlier two releases of Yeezy shoes. CEO Bjorn Gulden, who took over after the Yeezy breakup, is leading an effort to recover from the loss of the profitable Yeezy business.
The announcement from Adidas comes at a time of rising antisemitism and islamophobia after the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war. Gulden referenced the “terrible circumstances” in the Middle East, saying some of the company’s more than 600 employees in Israel had been called up for military service and that “we, as a company, are starting donations programs, for the whole area, also for Gaza." The company is working with the SOS Kinderdoerfer weltweit children’s relief agency to help those who have been affected by the conflict.
The assumption in the outlook is that remaining Yeezy inventory "will be written off....if that will happen or not is something that we evaluate all the time, so there are no decisions on what we'll do,” Gulden told reporters on a conference call. “Right now, that is financially the worst case and it is a possibility. Currently there is no decision. ”
He added that “we of course hope we can do more drops next year and we can get more value out of it and donate the proceeds, but right now financially we haven’t made a decision and that’s why the outlook is the way it is.”
He said there were “many scenarios” and that the shoes were stored in a number of different locations. He declined to say what the company would do with the shoes if they remain unsold.
The breakup with Ye left the company, based in Herzogenaurach, Germany, with 1.2 billion euros worth of unsold Yeezys and searching for a responsible way to dispose of them. Giving the shoes away to people in need would have raised concerns about informal resales due to their high market value, the company said, while restitching them to remove the brand identification would have been dishonest.
Roomba maker iRobot has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, but says that it doesn’t expect any disruptions to devices as the more than 30-year-old company is taken private under a restructuring process. iRobot said that it is being acquired by Picea through a court-supervised process. Picea is the company's primary contract manufacturer. The Bedford, Massachusetts-based anticipates completing the prepackaged chapter 11 process by February.
Serbia’s prosecutor for organized crime has charged a government minister and three others with abuse of position and falsifying of documents related to a luxury real estate project linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. The charges came on Monday. The investigation centers on a controversy over a a bombed-out military complex in central Belgrade that was a protected cultural heritage zone but that is facing redevelopment as a luxury compound by a company linked to Kushner. The $500 million proposal to build a high-rise hotel, offices and shops at the site has met fierce opposition from experts at home and abroad. Selakovic and others allegedly illegally lifted the protection status for the site by falsifying documentation.
Wealthfront’s CFO Alan Iberman talks the $2.05B IPO and the major moment for robo banking as the company bets on AI, automation, and “self-driving money."
A rare magnum of Dom Pérignon Vintage 1961 champagne that was specially produced for the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana has failed to sell during an auction. Danish auction house Bruun Rasmussen handled the bidding Thursday. The auction's house website lists the bottle as not sold. It was expected to fetch up to around $93,000. It is one of 12 bottles made to celebrate the royal wedding. Little was revealed about the seller. The auction house says the bids did not receive the desired minimum price.
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
OpenAI has appointed Slack CEO Denise Dresser as its first chief of revenue. Dresser will oversee global revenue strategy and help businesses integrate AI into daily operations. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently emphasized improving ChatGPT, which now has over 800 million weekly users. Despite its success, OpenAI faces competition from companies like Google and concerns about profitability. The company earns money from premium ChatGPT subscriptions but hasn't ventured into advertising. Altman had recently announced delays in developing new products like AI agents and a personal assistant.
