Marketing in the News: Adidas Yeezy Stockpile

    https://www.npr.org/2023/06/01/1179416143/adidas-yeezy-sales-ye-kanye-west

Though this might be a few days over 30 days old, I found this article very interesting. I found it so interesting because it involves the clothing industry and hip hop culture, two things I am very intrigued with. Adidas partnered with Kanye West back in 2013, introducing Yeezy's in 2015. This had been a longstanding partnership with rapper Kanye West, that dissolved in October of 2022. The end of their partnership was due to an outburst of antisemitic remarks made by the rapper. The reason this is so important is because Yeezy's were such a successful line of shoes. They made up over 40% of Adidas profits (https://www.soleretriever.com/news/articles/40-percent-of-adidas-profit-came-from-yeezy-sneaker-sales-2022), while they were sold by Adidas. What Adidas is now doing with their leftover stockpile of Yeezy shoes is selling it with a "significant amount" of the profits being donated to organizations that fight hate, in particular antisemitism and racism. The article states that if Adidas had chosen not to sell the shoe it would cut their revenue by $1.28 billion. I found this article so compelling, because cutting 1.28 into their revenue could put them out of business, but continuing to sell Yeezy's could show poor morals as a company that was started in a country with antisemitic history. I found it to be very great marketing to spin this negative situation into a positive opportunity to help a good cause. They might even be able to sell these shoes at the same rate, before Kanye West went on his antisemitic rant. I thought that this was a great response from Adidas and a great way to handle this incident given the alternative options. Even if they donated half of every Yeezy sale that would still save them $640 million. It was a great compromise for a marketing approach because this might make people more inclined to buy from Adidas again, if their views align. I think that it does appeal to a "buyer persona" because, though, many people are against racism and antisemitism, not everyone is. Therefore, their decision may not appeal to everyone. I'm not sure what I would've done as a marketing manager in this scenario. I think the only thing Adidas could've done better is announce the actual percentage that will be donated from each Yeezy purchase. "Significant" is a relative term, so it seems like it they might be ashamed of the portion they agreed on. Adidas value proposition is an innovative, customized, status brand.