Yeezy-branded clothing typically sells out in minutes from Adidas and its sales were worth between €1.5bn and €2bn per year in revenues to the sportswear company, according to analyst estimates.
West’s relationship with Adidas goes back to 2006, when West first designed a shoe for the company that was never released. He later worked with Nike for five years, before returning to work with Adidas in 2015 and signing up to a formal deal a year later.
Despite the Yeezy brand’s success, West engaged in ever more provocative actions against Adidas. In June, he called out Adidas chief executive Rørsted, accusing him of allegedly stealing his designs to sell its Adilette slides. In deleted posts on Instagram, West said “I have no chill, it’s going to cost you billions to keep me, it’s going to cost you billions to let me go Adidas”.
Adidas said in a statement: “After a thorough review, the company has taken the decision to terminate the partnership with Ye immediately, end production of Yeezy branded products and stop all payments to Ye and his companies. Adidas will stop the Adidas Yeezy business with immediate effect.”
The break-up will be expensive for both parties. Swartz, of Morningstar, said: “Its impact will be more severe than we anticipated as Adidas has ended production of all Yeezy products.”
He estimated that Yeezy sales were worth between 10 to 15pc of Adidas’s revenues.
However, Adidas said on Tuesday that it remained the “sole owner of all design rights to existing products as well as previous and new colourways under the partnership”, suggesting the split may also be painful for the rapper. Forbes previously reported that West received a 15pc cut on wholesale revenue of his Yeezy products.
Kanye had himself estimated the deal with Adidas to be worth $4.3bn to his own personal wealth.
West’s anti-Semitic remarks were particularly awkward for Adidas, whose founder, Adolf Dassler, collaborated with Nazi Germany in the 1940s, making shoes and later weapons at a factory using slave labour. “I would have liked a clear stance earlier from a German company that was also entangled with the Nazi regime,” said Josef Schuster, of the Central Council of Jews.
West, who has previously admitted to having bipolar disorder, has insisted he will continue to sell Yeezy products directly to consumers. This could bring him into conflict again with Adidas, should it seek to enforce its control of the brand. Swartz, of Morningstar, said the brand was more likely to wish to distance itself from the rapper entirely.
So far, West has not commented on his lost Adidas deal. He has been blocked from posting on Twitter and Instagram over his remarks. On Parler, the free speech focused social network which he has said he will buy, he posted a Biblical quote five days ago.
“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” he wrote.
