Yeezy fiasco helps push Adidas into loss as US sales continue to fall

Adidas has slumped to a rare annual loss, hit by the fallout from its costly break-up with rapper Ye, falling sales in North America and a huge tax bill.

Adidas has slumped to a rare annual loss, hit by the fallout from its costly break-up with rapper Ye, falling sales in North America and a huge tax bill. The German sportswear giant posted a net loss of €58 million ($63 million) in its core business in 2023, as revenue was hurt by lower sales of Yeezy-branded clothing and sneakers, while its tax burden shot up. “We didn’t have a great year in 2023,” chief financial officer Harm Ohlmeyer told journalists Wednesday. Shares in Adidas fell almost 4% in early trade, before paring most of those losses by 9.40 a.m. ET. In October 2022, Adidas broke off its high-profile partnership with Yeezy designer Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, after he made a string of anti-semitic remarks. Adidas has been selling its remaining Yeezy stock, saying it will donate a “significant amount to selected organizations working to combat discrimination and hate, including racism and antisemitism.”