Adidas CEO Bjorn Gulden considered hiding from Ye as a chance encounter at a Las Vegas airport following the Super Bowl unfolded.
A viral photo of the pair together during the unexpected meeting fueled rumors online about the potential for collaboration despite the recent conclusion of the Yeezy brand partnership.
Gulden was quick to clarify the nature of the encounter, stating there was no business intent behind the meeting.
“It was not a meeting, there was no business discussion,” said Gulden, addressing the widespread conjecture stirred by the photo.
He humorously pondered the social protocol of bumping into high-profile figures in public spaces, asking, “If you meet him at an airport, I don’t know what you do. Do you hide? Or what do you do?”
This meeting occurred amid Adidas’s phased sell-off of its remaining Yeezy inventory.
The company has firmly stated that the lucrative collaboration that brought the Yeezy brand to prominent heights within the sneaker and fashion landscapes will not be renewed.
Despite the past success, Adidas is charting forward with its own plans for the future, leaving the partnership with Ye in the past.
The speculative buzz around the photo of Gulden and Ye is juxtaposed with a firm stance from Adidas on the cessation of their collaboration.
The closure of the Adidas-Yeezy partnership has not gone without its controversies.
Ye levied criticism towards Adidas for continuing to sell Yeezy-branded products without his authorization, arguing that the company is capitalizing on his creative output unjustly.
He has even gone to the extent of urging his fans to boycott Adidas products in response.
This ongoing feud with Ye has substantially impacted Adidas’s financial health. The grievances and subsequent boycott have contributed to Adidas reporting a substantial financial loss in 2023, marking the company’s first net loss in over three decades.
The reported net loss stood at approximately $767 million dollars, showcasing the significant repercussions of the severed partnership.
