Adidas and Kanye West have reportedly come to an out-of-court resolution two years after engaging in several litigations.
The CEO of the sportswear brand, Bjørn Gulden, who directs the operations from Germany, shared this update during a press conference on Tuesday, informing that a resolution has been achieved after Adidas severed its business ties with Ye due to his prior antisemitic statements.
The CEO stated that all disputes are now resolved, declaring, “and there is no money moving in either direction, and we both advance forward.”
Although Gulden did not specifically address Ye’s controversial comments, he mentioned there had been “issues of tension” on multiple fronts, yet both parties concluded that “we don’t need to engage in further conflict” and retracted their claims, as reported by Reuters.
It appears that Gulden has no regrets regarding Adidas’ choice to disengage from the rapper, given that the company netted approximately $215 million from the sale of the leftover Yeezy stock – over $100 million less than the previous year.
Nonetheless, Adidas experienced growth in the Greater China region and in North America after terminating the Yeezy partnership, attributing this improvement to a more favorable brand perception.
Adidas made their announcement to cease collaboration with Kanye in October 2022 amidst a call for a boycott following the rap artist’s antisemitic expressions. At that juncture, Adidas estimated a potential $246 million hit to their net earnings as a result of this decision.
Even so, the sneaker company maintained its stance, affirming that “Ye’s recent utterances and behaviors are intolerable, hateful, and perilous, violating the company’s principles of diversity, inclusion, mutual respect, and fairness.”
We have attempted to reach out to Kanye’s representatives for a statement … but have yet to receive a response.