Kanye West Effect? After Losing Over $500 Million Adidas Suffers Another Blow as Beyonce Leaves the $27.7 Billion Brand
This divorce was amicable. Beyonce and Adidas split up after a partnership of 6 long years. The world-renowned celebrity and the lifestyle company reportedly went separate ways due to “creative differences”. The initially very successful initiative has now left the company bleeding a 200 million dollar gaping hole in annual statistics.
This comes after the footwear apparel dumped Kanye West for his anti-Semitic comments. Adidas was already running on loss after kicking Ye out, and this step by Beyonce might further prove to be more harmful.
Beyonce and Adidas part ways
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the single most Grammy-winning artist, Beyonce, and the lifestyle brand Adidas mutually decided that it was time for their 6-year-long partnership to end. In 2018, the two forces joined to give birth to the Ivy Park activewear collection, which comprises footwear, fitness, and fashionwear.
Although the reason for the split is still unknown, a source revealed it was due to “major creativity differences”. After gaining ownership of Ivy Park from Topshop in 2018, Beyonce started her new journey with Adidas. Even though the decision of parting ways may seem like a decision made after a lot of deliberations, in January she launched a preview of her latest from the said collection in Dubai.
However, despite the disheartening news, fans are happy about all the projects their favorite artist is involved in. She recently announced her first live show in four months and is set to start her Renaissance World Tour.
Ivy Park was not selling
The collection was not selling as hot as Beyonce’s concert tickets. According to the annual reports of Adidas, the collection had very few sales. And thus, left the company in loss with a rough figure of $200 million. It all went downhill in 2022 when Ivy Park sales dropped by 50% to $40 million according to the Wall Street Journal Show.
The contract between the two was set to end after 2023, but people are speculating the sudden drop in sales might be one of the reasons Beyonce and Adidas decided to drop the project altogether. After the fashion giant cut ties with the controversial rapper Ye, for reasons that are now widely known, suffered a huge loss of over $540 million.
During the launch of the Ivy Park collection, Adidas called this collaboration a “partnership of a lifetime” which aged like milk. They also made a statement the following year stating,
“We continue to be inspired by our collective vision and are proud of the work we have created together,”
According to reports, five out of six releases of the said collaboration remained unsold. Although, the split also does not mean the company will see profits in the years to come. However, people think it is for the best they decided not to go any further with the deal, and so do the people involved in the matter.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
