The Kicks You Wear, Vol. 405 — The true end of an era ✌️
The last of Yeezy is out of the building at Adidas
Goooood morning, family! Welcome back to the Kicks You Wear. Thanks for locking in with me this morning. Appreciate you.
Hope you’ve had a good week so far. Starting to warm up outside. Y’all know it’s my time. It’s almost skies out, thighs out season. You know the vibrations.
Don’t forget to set those clocks forward by an hour on Sunday, btw.
Let’s jump in.
It’s finally over
On Wednesday’s Q4 earnings call, CEO Bjorn Gulden shared plenty of news about the company’s current state and financial progress for the fiscal year.
But he also revealed some news that feels surreal to me.
What happened: Adidas x Yeezy is officially dead. Adidas has finally sold through all of its remaining Yeezy footwear inventory.
The company had been liquidating Yeezy inventory since May of 2023 following its fallout with Kanye West in October of 2022. The goal was to sell through the remaining inventory by the end of 2024.
The sale of the remaining Yeezy products generated 50 million euros for the quarter and 650 million through the fiscal year.
Remember, part of the profit from Yeezy is reportedly being donated to charity organizations. The company didn’t make clear what portion was donated on the call.
So that’s that, folks. That’s how the book ends for Adidas and Yeezy.
The backdrop: At the top, I called the final sale “surreal.” I can’t think of a more appropriate word to describe the fallout between Adidas and Yeezy. Despite everything, it’s still wild to me that we’re here.
If you’d told me back in 2017 that, in less than a decade from then, Adidas and Kanye West wouldn’t be working together anymore, there’s no way I’d have believed you.
Adidas Yeezy was arguably the most successful partnership we’d ever seen in footwear. If not ever, then it was second to Michael Jordan’s union with Nike, which happened 32 years prior. It was unprecedented. Period.
To be clear: It needed to end. West is toxic.
He abused employees while at Adidas and the brand let him get away with it for a while because, well, let’s face it, the money was nice. It only broke away from him because the public reaction forced it to.
That’s what makes this such an unbelievable fumble. All it took was being a decent person. If Kanye was, Yeezy might still exist.
Oh well.
So what’s next: While Adidas isn’t what it was when the Yeezy breakup happened, it’s getting close. Numbers from Gulden’s earnings call demonstrate that.
On the bright side:
Revenue jumped by 11 percent year over year to 23.68 billion euros, which isn’t far off from where it was in 2018.
Sales increased by double digits in multiple global markets, including Europe, China, Latin America, Japan, and Korea. The only dip was in North America, which was only two percent.
On the downside:
While a two percent dip in North America isn’t substantial, it’s still a two percent dip. That number is mildly concerning, as nothing has replaced Yeezy in the region yet.
The brand also announced a number of layoffs. Gulden says Adidas is cutting 500 “obsolete” jobs to “reduce operational complexity.” That’s CEO-speak for we’re cutting these jobs to save some cash in places we don’t feel are necessary. That’s never a good look.
Adidas is doing better, but it’s not yet out of the murky post-Yeezy waters. There’s still a lot of swimming to do.
This year will be instructive in determining how confident we should be in the brand as it moves forward.
Speaking of Adidas’ earnings call…
It looks like the AE 2 rollout is officially upon us. In one of the weirdest moments, the brand snuck a tiny peek at the AE 2 during the call.
The look:
There it is, folks.
Be smart: While this isn’t a full unveiling, this image does come directly from Adidas. This is technically the official look. It looks very similar to the sample pair we see here with a few tweaks.
This rollout is strange. I'm still not sure when these are coming out, but it seems like the process of generating hype is starting now. Maybe we won’t need to be that patient after all.
What do we think? Are these gas or what?
Nike’s little big win
In the case between Nike vs. StockX that just seems to have no end in sight, Nike got a pretty significant win on Wednesday.
What happened: The court ruled that StockX is, indeed, liable for selling 37 pairs of counterfeit sneakers relating to this case.
The counterfeit shoes were first brought into the lawsuit back in 2023.
They included 33 pairs sold to a buyer named Roy Kim, who detailed the experience to Complex. Four other pairs were sold to Nike in relation to this case.
It’s important to note that this case isn’t quite over yet. The judge ruled against a false advertising claim Nike brought against StockX in the same motion. Seven other claims against StockX will be settled in court starting this summer on June 15.
What they’re saying: StockX released a statement after the ruling, saying verification is still “core” to the company.
“The products in question in this case amount to a mere 0.0004% of the 17.8 million Nike sneakers StockX reviewed while this litigation was ongoing. Compare that to the more than $80,000,000 of suspected counterfeit sneakers alone that StockX has prevented from being sold on our platform since launching in 2016. As we’ve said before, it’s a shame that rather than work with us to fight fakes, Nike has instead opted to use its resources to pursue meritless, expensive litigation. We look forward to the opportunity to tell our story to a jury at trial.”
The big picture: This pre-trial ruling could be a big deal for StockX.
Exactly how the brand will be impacted and what changes it might make in its operations is unclear. But since it is being held liable here, you’d have to expect the brand to make moves to protect itself from this
The brand had already done some of this before. In 2022, the reselling platform changed the language behind its verification policy.
There’s still plenty left to be settled with this case. It’s barely even about the NFTs anymore, which is the thing that started it all.
June can’t get here soon enough.
Hoka is feeling fancy
This Hoka x Marni collab is kind of gas. I’m not going to lie to y’all.
What you’re seeing: That’s Hoka’s Bondi B3ls in the fanciest form you’ve ever seen it. This is the brand’s Marni collab.
The B3ls is already a chunky shoe, but here we see it dressed up in the muted — yet distinct — color palette we typically see with Marni products.
The materials also look distinct and plush, which is another Marni mainstay.
The Hoka logo placed on the mid-panel has also been removed from these pairs.
Hoka is so good at collaborations, man. The shoes are so versatile yet so distinct. Because of that signature chunky look, you can take the logo off here and still know exactly what brand it is. You can’t do that with a Nike or Adidas model. It just wouldn’t work.
These are good. Really good. Probably a little too expensive for my blood, but I appreciate them nonetheless. Good work, Hoka.
#TheKicksWeWear
Y’ALL KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS!!!
First the homie Matt got us poppin with the Stormtrooper AE 1s. What a silhouette, guys.
The homie CK came through with the Animal Print AJ3s. I’m so mad I missed out on these when they dropped.
The homie Alex came through with ALL the Eagles gear and a nice pair of SBs. Fly, Eagles fly!
My dog Sumeet popped out in the Nigel Bike Air AJ1s. These joints are so good. What an add to the collection, man.
Then the homie Harrison sent us home with these AMAZING Batman vs. Superman custom forces. WOW this is inane. What a custom job. Well done.
Y’all did that, man. Good stuff.
That’s a wrap, folks! Thanks so much for reading. I appreciate you. Have a fantastic weekend.
If you have any questions, comments or concerns, reach me via email at mikedsykes@gmail.com or hit me up here on Substack.
Peace and love. Be safe, be easy, be kind. We out.
-Sykes 💯
1) Im very bullish on adidas’ performance for the rest of this year. With their A-Type line coming out soon and the knitwear heat they keep releasing in Asia, I think they’re onto something.
2) I’m not a runner anymore so hoka hasn’t really been on my list of things to watch out for, but that Marni collab is 🔥🔥🔥
3) solid write up as always.