Adidas has posted its first loss in over 30 years following the financial fallout from abandoning its deal with rapper Kanye West.
The sportswear giant reported a loss of £50m (€58m) in 2023, compared to a £217m (€254m) profit the year before, as sales remained flat on a currency-neutral basis.
Chief executive Bjorn Gulden said the group’s performance last year was “by far not good enough” but the end of 2023 was “better than what I had expected at the beginning of the year”.
Sales sunk 5% to £18.3bn (€21.4bn), with the discontinuation of its Yeezy line contributing to a £427m (€500m) decline.
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Adidas dropped West, who developed what became one of the retailer’s most successful trainer ranges, in 2022 after the rapper made a series of anti-Semitic comments including on X – formerly Twitter – which said he intended to “go death con 3 on Jewish people”.
The company has been selling off its remaining stock from the Yeezy range in recent months and donating the proceeds towards anti-hate charities.
Gulden said: “Despite losing a lot of Yeezy revenue and a very conservative sell-in strategy, we managed to have flat revenues.
“With a very disciplined go-to-market and buying process, we reduced our inventories by almost €1.5m. With the exception of the US, we now have healthy inventories everywhere.”
It said it expects sales to improve this year and is forecasting double-digit growth forecast in the second half due to the popularity for its classic styles including its Samba and Gazelle lines.
The loss marks the first time Adidas has been in the red since 1992 when it was rocked by the death of Horst Dassler, part of the founding family, and his daughters chose to exit the company.
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