Adidas Sportswear has reported an annual loss of 75 million euros, $82 million, which came after a profit of 612 million euros in 2023.
Sales plummeted 5% to 21.4 billion euros and were hurt especially hard in the United States due to the termination of sales of Yeezy trainers designed by controversial rapper Kanye West.
Sales fell marginally in the fourth quarter, with a particularly sharp drop in North America, as Adidas sold less to wholesalers to eliminate surplus inventory.
Adidas terminated its deal with West in 2022 after he made a string of anti-Semitic statements, leaving the company with thousands of unsold Yeezy shoes created in collaboration.
Did you read this?
Two Yeezy sales in 2023 brought in 750 million euros, far less than the 1.2 billion euros the logo generated in 2022. Adidas donates revenues from sales to charities.
Adidas anticipates a "mid-single-digit rate" of sales growth by 2024. The corporation plans to sell the remaining Yeezy revenue at cost, producing approximately 250 million euros in sales.
