Adidas announced on Wednesday that it would slash its dividend by 79% because severing ties with “Yeezy” designer Kanye West has decimated earnings to the tune of $1.3 billion.
Last month we noted that shares of Adidas AG crashed on the German exchange after it warned that it’s sitting on a $1.3 billion pile of unsold Yeezy products, and were ‘reviewing’ options for utilizing the inventory.
Adidas terminated its partnership with Ye in October, after the rapper formerly known as Kanye West repeatedly made antisemitic comments on social media.
The Yeezy line accounted for 7% of Adidas’ total sales last year according to analysts from S&P Global Ratings.
The sportswear giant added Wednesday that it will have to write off around 500 billion euros ($530 billion) worth of Yeezy sneakers if it can’t find buyers for the inventory it currently holds. It might be forced into “literally burning the shoes,” industry experts told the Washington Post. -Insider
www.zerohedge.com/political/adidas-cut-dividend-80-after-losing-13-billion-severing-ties-kanye-west