Foot Locker rejects Kanye West’s Yeezy addition for fear of backlash
Foot Locker rejects Kanye West’s Yeezy addition for fear of backlash
Foot Locker refused to sell Yeezy shoes earlier this summer during Adidas’ relaunch of the brand, it has been reported.
The shoe retailer originally planned to stock the shoes, but later refrained from doing so Complex.
Foot Locker reportedly feared the backlash that could result from sales of shoes associated with rapper Kanye West, now known as Ye.
Adidas first teamed up with West on the brand in 2013, but dropped him in the wake of a string of anti-Semitic comments last October.
The fallout left the company with a $1.3 billion stash of Yeezy products, which it ultimately decided to release in waves rather than destroy, donating a portion of the proceeds to charitable and anti-hate groups.
Foot Locker reportedly feared the backlash that could result from sales of shoes associated with rapper Kanye West, who is now called Ye
Adidas first teamed up with West on the brand in 2013, but dropped him in the wake of a string of anti-Semitic comments last October. The fallout left the company with a $1.3 billion stash of Yeezy products, which it eventually decided to release
When the relationship between West and Adidas fell apart, Foot Locker quickly pulled the shoes off the shelves.
‘Foot Locker, Inc. will not tolerate any form of anti-Semitism, or hateful and discriminatory behavior,” a spokesman said at the time.
“While we remain a partner of Adidas and have a wide range of their collections, we will not support any future Yeezy product drops and have instructed our retailers to remove any existing product from our shelves and digital sites.”
However, Adidas’s first batch of post-controversy Yeezy sales appear to have been met with minimal backlash — with the company confirming it generated $437 million in revenue from its initial relaunch earlier this summer.
It also confirmed that it will donate $120 million from the sale, which was available exclusively through Adidas, to charity.
According to ComplexFoot Locker also reportedly struggled to integrate a charitable aspect into the sale of the shoes.
Foot Locker and Adidas did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
However, a representative for Atmos, a sneaker store that Foot Locker acquired in 2021, confirmed to the outlet that its stores would not stock the shoes.
It comes months after West moved his Yeezy office next to Adidas in Los Angeles — when the company began selling off its remaining inventory.
Photos show the artist moved his corporate office next to Adidas’ store in Los Angeles
Photos released in May show the artist moving his corporate office to the Adidas store on Melrose Avenue.
“We believe that (selling and donating these Yeezys) is the best solution because it respects the designs created and the shoes produced, it works for our people, solves an inventory problem and will have a positive impact in our communities,” says Adidas CEO Bjorn. Gulden said in a statement on May 19.