Adidas Has a Plan for $1.3B in Yeezy Inventory

Adidas is trying to move beyond its former partnership with Kanye West, now known as Ye—and it has come up with a plan for the mountains of Yeezy shoes piled up in its warehouses. The German company said Thursday that it plans to sell some of the inventory and donate the proceeds to charities, the BBC reports. Burning millions of pairs of sneakers and other Yeezy merchandise "is not the solution," CEO Bjørn Gulden said Thursday, per CBS. "What we are trying to do now over time is to sell parts of this inventory and donate money to the organizations that are helping us and that were also hurt by Kanye's statements."

In March, Gulden said the company was looking into doing "something good" with around $1.3 billion in unsold Yeezy inventory. The company, which is facing its first annual loss in decades, cut its ties with Ye in October after the rapper made numerous antisemitic remarks in interviews and online. Gulden didn't disclose details of the plan Thursday, including how many shoes would be sold and which charities would benefit, the AP reports. Quartz reports that Ye, whose net worth plummeted after the end of the Adidas partnership, will get 15% royalties from the sale of any Yeezy products. (Investors are suing Adidas over the partnership.)