WASHINGTON — After months wrestling over the destiny of milions of unsold Yeezy footwear, Adidas has determined to promote a portion of its remaining stock and donate the proceeds to chartitable organizations, CEO of the German sportbrand Bjørn Gulden stated Thursday.

Adidas lower ties with Ye, the rapper previously often known as Kanye West, in late October, following his antisemitic feedback on social media and in interviews. As a outcome, the destiny of 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) value of the unsold Yeezys, a profitable sneaker line launched with Ye, was unknown.

At Adidas‘ annual shareholders meeting, Gulden said the company had spent months trying to find solutions. The CEO also added that Adidas spoke to NGOs and organizations that were harmed by Ye’s feedback and actions.

“Burning those shoes cannot be the solution,” Gulden stated, noting that Adidas was going to attempt to promote a part of the remaining Yeezy stock and “donate money to the organizations that help us and were harmed by what Ye said.”

Exact particulars of this plan — together with what number of footwear might be bought and the timeline of promoting them — stay unknown. Gulden stated the corporate will present updates as they strikes ahead.

The transfer comes as Adidas is making an attempt to stage a comeback and transfer past the Yeezy partnership. Cutting ties with Ye has price Adidas a whole lot of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} — with the corporate taking a lack of 600 million euros ($655 million) in gross sales for the final three months of 2022, serving to drive the corporate to a quarterly internet lack of 513 million euros.

Adidas reported 400 million euros ($441 million) in misplaced gross sales at the beginning of 2023, the corporate introduced final week.

Net gross sales declined 1% within the first quarter, to five.27 billion euros, and would have risen 9% with the Yeezy line, the corporate stated. It reported a internet lack of 24 million euros, a plunge from a revenue of 310 million euros in the identical interval a yr in the past.

Operating revenue, which excludes some objects like taxes, was all the way down to 60 million euros from 437 million euros a yr earlier.

Meanwhile, Adidas can also be dealing with a class-action lawsuit from buyers who allege the corporate knew about offensive remarks and dangerous habits from Ye, years earlier than terminating its pact with him. Adidas has pushed again on the allegations made within the lawsuit.

Still, Gulden reminded buyers that the nine-year partnership Adidas and Ye was “sensational.”

While he famous that Ye is a tough individual, “he’s the most creative person in our industry,” Gulden stated. “He created a model with Adidas that was sought after around the world.” But he added, “We lost that in a month.”

• AP Business Writer David McHugh in Frankfurt, Germany, and AP Retail Writer Anne D’Innocenzio in New York contributed to this report.

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