Adidas says it wants to continue releasing shoes designed in collaboration with Kanye West without the Yeezy branding, despite ending its partnership with the rapper last month.
The German sportswear brand claims to be the “sole owner” of some design rights and intends to use them next year.
Adidas said it was terminate production of its Yeezy-branded products with “immediate effect” in October, following the rapper’s anti-Semitic comments.
The German sportswear company previously claimed it “does not tolerate anti-Semitism” and called Ye’s recent comments “dangerous and hateful”.
However, in a call to discuss quarterly earnings, Harm Ohlmeyer, Adidas’s chief financial officer, said plans to “leverage existing inventory” are currently under development, according to US media.
“Adidas is the sole owner of all registered design rights on existing products,” he said.
“We intend to make use of these rights as early as 2023”.
Yeezy sneakers have been a huge hit for the company and are sought after on the second-hand market, regularly selling for hundreds of pounds.
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Explanation: Kanye West’s anti-Semitism controversy
The company was criticized for failing to act prior to Wests’ anti-Semitic remarks on social media
He had previously said he was going to “sentence 3 Jews to death” and recently suggested that slavery in the United States was a choice.
The decision to terminate the partnership with Adidas cost the rapper his place on Forbes’ list of billionaires.
The contract represented around $ 1.5 billion (£ 1.3 billion), according to the US business magazine.
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At the time, Adidas expected the decision would “have a short-term negative impact of up to 250 million euros on the company’s net profit in 2022 given the high seasonality of the fourth quarter”.
The rapper’s offensive social media posts and comments cost him a slew of business relationships and deals, including with US fashion chain Gap and fashion label Balenciaga.
