According to a press report, Adidas has met with brisk demand with the first sale of the Yeezy sports shoes after the end of the partnership with rapper Kanye West. On June 2nd and thus towards the end of the campaign, Adidas received orders worth more than 508 million euros for around 4 million pairs of sneakers, the “Financial Times” reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. Demand exceeded the group’s most optimistic forecasts, it said. An Adidas spokesman declined to comment as the group is about to release its quarterly figures.
Adidas has not been able to fulfill all orders, especially for certain sizes and models, the paper writes. Customers had to register online in advance and place their orders for specific models. While the value of the orders received was over 508 million euros, net sales were lower, the newspaper quoted employees as saying.
The manufacturer stopped selling Yeezy sneakers in October after ending its highly profitable partnership with fashion designer and rapper West – now known as Ye – following his anti-Semitic comments. If the stocks are not sold, Adidas expects a loss of sales of around 1.2 billion euros and a burden on the operating result of around 500 million euros. As part of the sale, the company announced in May that it would donate a “significant amount” to selected organizations that fight discrimination and hate, including racism and anti-Semitism. (dpa)