Adidas plans to offer additional Yeezys, but without Ye, as early as next year, according to the company’s quarterly results call on November 9.
Adidas first collaborated with Ye, then known as Kanye West, in 2013. The nine-year partnership was financially successful but emotionally difficult. Adidas eventually severed relations with the artist and fashion designer on October 25 following antisemitic remarks and a succession of public critiques from him.
Ye has clashed with Adidas management in public, notably in June when he strongly objected to the firm producing slides that resembled the Yeezy Slide, calling them “a fake YEEZY made by Adidas themselves.”
“I’m not standing for this blatant copying no more,” he wrote on Instagram reacting to images of the Adidas Adilette slide. Ye has also condemned Adidas for creating “Yeezy Day” without his approval, naming sneaker releases on its own, and not creating physical retail stores devoted to his brand.
Adidas Chief Financial Officer Harm Ohlmeyer stated that the firm owns the designs created in collaboration with Ye.
“Adidas is the sole owner of all design rights registered to existing product,” he said. “We intend to make use of these rights as early as 2023.”
During a following press conference, Ohlmeyer declined to comment on Adidas’ plans, other than to say that the business controls the brand “all of the variants and new colours It’s our internet protocol address.”
The Yeezy Slide, for which Ye owns the patent, may be an exception.
“We are working through all the options,” Ohlmeyer said. “When the time is right we will be more specific.”
Sneaker Twitter’s reaction to Adidas renaming Yeezy is that the shoes will most certainly sell, but not with the same level of buzz as they did with Ye’s involvement.
When Adidas announced its separation with Ye, the firm claimed it projected a $247 million impact to its bottom line this year. The earnings announcement on Wednesday confirmed that expectation. Ohlmeyer also stated that the company’s yearly sales will be around $502 million less than projected this year.
However, Adidas will save around $302 million in 2023 due to royalties and marketing expenditures that will no longer be paid to sustain the Yeezy business. When Kanye left Nike for Adidas in November 2013, he blasted Nike and then-CEO Mark Parker for failing to pay him royalties on sold sneakers.
“Nike told me, ‘We can’t give you royalties because you’re not a professional athlete,'” West said in 2013.
Ohlmeyer was also questioned about whether Adidas intended to trash current products or re-release it at a later date.
“We need to take our time to review what the best options are,” Ohlmeyer said. “When the time is right we will be more concrete.”