After a public tantrum that included a series of antisemitic statements, music artist and entrepreneur Kanye West was dropped by his long-time partner, the company Adidas. After canceling the lucrative deal and ceasing production of the popular Adidas Yeezy line, the sports company had sneakers worth 500 million dollars left in stock, which they decided to sell in May. To show that the sale of stock was not motivated by profit, they promised to donate part of the revenue to organizations supporting groups that the musician offended.
Rescue for revenues
Although the media reported at the time that Kanye West would earn 25 million dollars from that sale, the Financial Times reports that the amount is significantly higher. Specifically, on the first day of sales, four million orders were placed, valued at an estimated 565 million dollars, and since the controversial musician is entitled to 15 percent of the profits, his bank account unexpectedly swelled by 85 million dollars. Adidas, meanwhile, is keeping its promise and plans to donate a total of nine million dollars to five charitable organizations in America and China. The sale of Yeezys has positively impacted their business results, and in August, more sneakers from the stock will be available on shelves and in the online store.
