Demand for sport shoes designed by Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, has soared in the months since the US rapper tarnished his reputation with a series of weird interviews, in which the music star claimed he felt "sympathetic" toward Adolph Hitler and urged Jews to pardon him.
John Mocadlo, chief executive of Impossible Kicks, a California-based online reseller of high-end sport shoes and clothing, told a US media outlet that the demand for the Yeezy sneakers, which were sold under the Adidas label, “has surged 30% since last October-November.”
According to Mocadlo, the sneakers are now among the top three sellers on Impossible Kicks, after Jordans and other Nike footwear, including Dunk and Air Max shoes.
“We sell about 30,000 sneakers in total every month. Probably 6,000 to 7,000 of those right now are Yeezys,” the Impossible Kicks CEO said.
The remarks come as a US newspaper reported that the German sports brand Adidas is sitting on up to $500 million worth of unsold Yeezy sneakers after cutting ties with West last year.
“A final decision on what the company will do with the shoes is still months away, but options range from selling them without the Yeezy branding to literally burning,” according to the outlet.
Adidas ended its partnership with Kanye West in October 2022, after the rapper was suspended from Instagram and Twitter over his anti-Semitic and pro-Nazi stance.
The company said it "does not tolerate anti-Semitism," adding that Ye's comments were "unacceptable, hateful and dangerous, and they violate the company’s values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness."