Adidas is bracing for a $1.3 billion loss in revenue and $535 million drop in profit in 2023 if efforts to sell off its inventory of Yeezy-branded sneakers fail.
Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, was once synonymous with Adidas. Now the German sneaker giant is dealing with the fallout of ending its partnership with the rapper and fashion designer last year after he made a series of anti-semitic remarks.
The biggest question facing the company is whether it can repurpose its Yeezy products or if it will be forced to write them off, putting a massive dent in revenue and profits. Regardless of the outcome, Adidas is expecting a challenging year ahead.
“The numbers speak for themselves. We are currently not performing the way we should”, said CEO Bjørn Gulden in a news release. “2023 will be a year of transition to set the base to again be a growing and profitable company."
He added that the company will focus on creating "brand heat" and improving its "product engine." "We need to put the pieces back together again, but I am convinced that over time we will make Adidas shine again. But we need some time," he said.
Shares were down around 9 percent in pre-trading on Friday after the announcement.
Microsoft has announced that it's hired Sam Altman and another co-founder of ChatGPT maker OpenAI after they unexpectedly departed the company days earlier in a corporate shakeup that shocked the artificial intelligence world.
Many factors lie behind the disconnect, but economists increasingly point to one in particular: The lingering financial and psychological effects of the worst bout of inflation in four decades.
Advertisers are fleeing social media platform X over concerns about their ads showing up next to pro-Nazi content, hate speech on the site in general or billionaire owner Elon Musk’s own posts endorsing an antisemitic conspiracy theory.
Big Business This Week is a guided tour through the biggest market stories of the week, from winning stocks to brutal dips to the facts and forecasts generating buzz on Wall Street.
The board of ChatGPT-maker Open AI said Friday it has pushed out its co-founder and CEO Sam Altman after a review found he was “not consistently candid in his communications” with the board.
