Adidas to start selling $1bn stockpile of Yeezy sneakers this month

The sports brand will sell shoes made in partnership with Kanye West, donating proceeds to anti-racism groups

US rapper Kanye West attends the WSJ Magazine 2019 Innovator Awards in New York. AFP

Adidas said on Friday that it will begin selling more than $1 billion worth of leftover Yeezy trainers later this month, with the proceeds to be donated to anti-racism groups.

The German sportswear company said recipients will include the Anti-Defamation League, which fights anti-Semitism and other forms of discrimination, and the Philonise & Keeta Floyd Institute for Social Change, run by social justice advocate Philonise Floyd, the brother of George Floyd.

Yeezy products have been unavailable to shoppers since adidas terminated its partnership with Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, in October 2022 following his anti-Semitic comments on social media and in interviews.

“After careful consideration, we have decided to begin releasing some of the remaining adidas Yeezy products,” said adidas chief executive Bjorn Gulden. “Selling and donating was the preferred option among all organisations and stakeholders we spoke to. There is no place in sport or society for hate of any kind and we remain committed to fighting against it.”

The items to be sold include existing designs as well as designs that were in the works in 2022 for sale this year, adidas said.

At the brand's annual shareholders meeting earlier this month, Gulden said the company had spent months trying to find solutions before deciding against destroying the items and to rather sell them to benefit various charities that were harmed by what Ye said.

The move has no immediate impact on the company's current financial guidance for 2023, adidas said.