adidas Has Officially Sold All Yeezy Sneakers

What was once a label rivaling that of Nike Inc.’s Jordan Brand, Kanye West’s (who now goes by Ye) Yeezy empire with adidas came to a screeching halt after multiple antisemitic and hate-filled incidents near the end of 2022. Following this, adidas debated on what to do with the remaining $1 billion-plus left of Yeezy sneakers, eventually deciding to offload it in a series of releases that took place between the early parts of 2023 and late 2024. In a press conference on Wednesday, the brand's CFO announced that adidas has sold every single Yeezy sneaker in its possession.

Harm Ohlmeyer, the German sportswear giant’s CFO, stated, “There is not one Yeezy shoe left. It has all been sold and that episode is behind us.” The journey to this position adidas is in was long, and as mentioned previously, The Three Stripes debated on exactly how to proceed with the remaining Yeezy inventory it had on hand. Originally, these sell-off style releases were exclusive to adidas, but starting in August 2023, retailers could sell Yeezy products coinciding with adidas' drops.

Even after dropping Ye, the controversial artist continued to call out adidas in social media posts and rants, claiming at one point that The Three Stripes were suing him for $250 million. It later was revealed that the two were in a legal battle that was settled out-of-court, though the result was not publicly announced.

It seemed that things were finally settled, but again, Ye took to social media to call out adidas for appearing in search results for Yeezy on Google, which resulted in the brand scrubbing its site of any and all references to Yeezy. He would follow this up by dropping new footwear, the SL-01, which went viral online. However, Ye followed this by using his platform and the eyes that were on him after his Super Bowl ad and controversial appearance on the red carpet for the Grammys to spew hate speech filled with racist, antisemitic, and harmful rhetoric.

During the final sell-off event for Yeezy sneakers, adidas discounted select models and colorways, some going for 70% of the original retail price. Many pairs were shipped to adidas outlets worldwide, and third-party retailers were given the green light to discount the remaining inventory they had on hand. It was last reported at the end of July that the brand would sell the remaining €150 million (approx $161 million) worth of Yeezy sneakers before the end of 2024. While the dust has settled on adidas’ part, there are still Yeezy sneakers out in the wild at various retailers online and in-store worldwide.

It's also important to note that adidas still owns the patents and rights to nearly every adidas Yeezy sneakers sans the Yeezy Slide. At the moment, The Three Stripes has no intention of using these designs to create non-Yeezy-branded sneakers, but could in the future.

While Ye’s indefensible remarks and hateful rhetoric caused lasting harm and justifiably ended his partnership with adidas, it's impossible to deny the profound impact Yeezy sneakers have had on sneaker culture and fashion as a whole. Yeezy fundamentally reshaped how sneakers were perceived and helped re-spark the adidas and Nike brand war in the 2010s, challenging the dominance of Jordan Brand’s cultural impact. His designs pushed boundaries, set trends, and captivated the industry for nearly a decade, with designs like the Yeezy Slide and Foam RNNR still informing how some brands approach footwear.

Although Ye’s personal legacy remains deeply marred by controversy, the cultural imprint left by Yeezy sneakers will undoubtedly influence sneaker design and fashion conversations for years to come. Fans of the brand’s design language should be happy to know that many ex-Yeezy employees have found work across the footwear industry, including Steven Smith, who now works for Crocs.

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Nicholas Vlahos

Sneakerhead from South Florida who turned his passion into a career. Concerts, music, trying new restaurants, and catching the latest movies are some of the things I enjoy when not writing for Sole Retriever. Email: nick@soleretriever.com