Rather than create a lot of landfill with the leftover residue from its failed partnership with anti-semite and pop icon Kanye "Ye" West, Adidas sold it off. The company posted solid profits off the move and donated $10 million of $437 million reported, or less than 5%, to fund groups that battle antisemitism.
I think the appropriate amount to donate, if one wants to be sure no one suspects you are making money off anti-semitism, is all of it. The people buying this Yeezy stuff are not wearing it to ADL fundraisers.
After Ye's antisemitic and other offensive comments led the company to end its partnership with the rapper in October, Adidas said it had sought a way to dispose of 1.2 billion euros worth of the high-end shoes in a responsible way.
"We will continue to carefully sell off more of the existing Yeezy inventory," said CEO Bjørn Gulden, who took over in January.
"This is much better than destroying and writing off the inventory and allows us to make substantial donations to organizations like the Anti-Defamation League, the Philonise & Keeta Floyd Institute for Social Change and Robert Kraft's Foundation to Combat Antisemitism," Gulden said.
Adidas has already handed over 10 million euros to the groups and expected to give an additional 100 million euros, with further donations possible depending on how future sales go, Chief Financial Officer Harm Ohlmeyer said.
