After a sharp drop in profits as a result of the terminated cooperation with the controversial US rapper Kanye West, investors in the USA have filed a lawsuit against the sporting goods manufacturer Adidas. The accusation: The group had known about the rapper’s problematic behavior for years, but only ended the cooperation last October – and did not take sufficient precautions to limit financial losses. Several media reported about it.
“We firmly reject these unfounded claims and will take all necessary measures to vigorously defend ourselves against them,” Adidas said on Tuesday on request.
The lawsuit was filed on Friday in a district court in the US state of Oregon. In addition to the company based in Herzogenaurach, it is also directed against its former CEO Kasper Rorsted and CFO Harm Ohlmeyer. It is designed as a potential class action lawsuit that other investors could join. An investment fund from the US state of Virginia is named as the main plaintiff.
Adidas ended its collaboration with Kanye West in October 2022 after the rapper repeatedly made anti-Semitic comments. The “Yeezy” products resulting from the cooperation had previously been a lucrative source of income for the group. The management expects sales losses of 1.2 billion euros in the current year due to the failure of the products alone.
How things will continue with the products that have already been manufactured was still open at the end of the day. The options ranged from various sales opportunities, where the proceeds could be donated, to destroying the goods.
