By David McHugh
Adidas said it might have to write off the remaining 300 million euros ($320 million) worth of Yeezy shoes left unsold after it cut ties with rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West. The company will decide in the coming weeks whether or not to do a third release of the shoes next year to generate more donations to groups fighting antisemitism.
The shoe and sports clothing company, which cut ties with Ye in October 2022 after he made antisemitic remarks online, has sold 750 million euros worth of the shoes in two stages earlier this year through Adidas smartphone apps and its website. Part of the profits went to groups like the Anti-Defamation League and the Philonise & Keeta Floyd Institute for Social Change, run by social justice advocate Philonise Floyd, the brother of George Floyd.
The company included the possible write-off of the remaining Yeezy inventory in its outlook Wednesday for its earnings this year, narrowing its expected loss to 100 million euros from an earlier prediction of 450 million euros, thanks in part to the earlier two releases of Yeezy shoes. CEO Bjorn Gulden, who took over after the Yeezy breakup, is leading an effort to recover from the loss of the profitable Yeezy business.
The announcement from Adidas comes at a time of rising antisemitism and islamophobia after the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war. Gulden referenced the “terrible circumstances” in the Middle East, saying some of the company’s more than 600 employees in Israel had been called up for military service and that “we, as a company, are starting donations programs, for the whole area, also for Gaza." The company is working with the SOS Kinderdoerfer weltweit children’s relief agency to help those who have been affected by the conflict.
The assumption in the outlook is that remaining Yeezy inventory "will be written off....if that will happen or not is something that we evaluate all the time, so there are no decisions on what we'll do,” Gulden told reporters on a conference call. “Right now, that is financially the worst case and it is a possibility. Currently there is no decision. ”
He added that “we of course hope we can do more drops next year and we can get more value out of it and donate the proceeds, but right now financially we haven’t made a decision and that’s why the outlook is the way it is.”
He said there were “many scenarios” and that the shoes were stored in a number of different locations. He declined to say what the company would do with the shoes if they remain unsold.
The breakup with Ye left the company, based in Herzogenaurach, Germany, with 1.2 billion euros worth of unsold Yeezys and searching for a responsible way to dispose of them. Giving the shoes away to people in need would have raised concerns about informal resales due to their high market value, the company said, while restitching them to remove the brand identification would have been dishonest.
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures — has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of sports betting in the U.S. The multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for sports fans — and even some players — to wager on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. But regulating the rapidly-growing industry has proven to be a challenge. Professional sports leagues’ own role in promoting gambling has also raised eyebrows.
At the core of the ongoing government shutdown is a fight over the decision to end subsidies that let some 12 million Americans get health coverage.
Tesla, the car company run by Elon Musk, reported Wednesday that it sold more vehicles in the past three months after boycotts hit hard earlier this year, but profits still fell sharply. Third-quarter earnings fell to $1.4 billion, from $2.2 billion a year earlier. Excluding charges, per share profit of 50 cents came in below analysts' estimate. Tesla shares fell 3.5% in after-hours trading. Musk said the company's robotaxi service, which is available in Austin, Texas, and San Francisco, will roll out to as many as 10 other metro areas by the end of the year.
