Out-of-court settlement: Adidas settles dispute with Kanye West

The sporting goods manufacturer Adidas has settled the dispute with the controversial rapper Kanye West that has been going on for around two years. There was an out-of-court agreement with West and his lawyers, said Adidas boss Björn Gulden on Tuesday in a conference call on the third quarter figures. This means that all complaints are off the table, says Gulden. There were no payments in one direction or the other.

After the rapper’s racist and sexist comments, Adidas terminated the collaboration at the end of 2022 and began selling the remainder of the previously very successful products in 2023. Adidas and West have since been involved in a number of legal battles. The turbulence surrounding West, among other factors, had a significant impact on Adidas’ past financial year.

This year, however, the sporting goods manufacturer has gotten back on track. After a strong third quarter, the group was optimistic about further developments. Gulden considers the business to be well balanced with double-digit growth rates in both the lifestyle and sports categories. “The strong underlying growth in China and the earlier-than-expected return to positive results for the Adidas brand in North America in the last two quarters make us confident about the medium-term future,” he said.

Adidas had already presented preliminary figures on October 15th and increased its forecast once again. The company has now confirmed this. Sales in the third quarter rose by 7.3 percent to 6.4 billion euros, with currency-adjusted revenues increasing by ten percent. Among other things, Adidas benefited from robust demand for retro sneakers and football jerseys. The numbers are still skewed by sales from the Kanye West collaboration. Excluding these sales, sales increased by 14 percent after adjusting for currency effects.