On Friday morning 5th May 2023, during an earnings call with the media,..
Gulden revealed that the collaboration would feature lifestyle sneakers, apparel, and basketball footwear, which will be worn by select Adidas athletes in the NBA. These products were teased in Jerry Lorenzo’s inaugural Fear of God runway show in April.
adidas X Fear of God athletics
According to Gulden, Adidas’ retail partners have received the collaboration very well, and it could be a “game-changer” for the brand by 2024. The hope is that the release will help offset some of the damage caused by the loss of Adidas’ Yeezy business, which accounted for seven percent of overall revenue. However, Gulden made it clear in February that there was no replacement in the works for the Yeezy business.
The focus for Adidas in 2023 is not short-term financial gain, but rather building a strong foundation for the future. As a result, there may be more markdowns to reduce the inventory of unsold sneakers and apparel, which currently stands at €5.7 billion. While this figure is down from late December, it is still too high for Adidas to regain its brand momentum.
Additionally, Adidas is still reviewing options for the €1.2 billion unsold Yeezy merchandise resulting from the cancelled collaboration with rapper and designer Ye (formerly known as Kanye West). Adidas terminated the partnership in October after Ye made a series of antisemitic comments.
Investors are looking for signs that Gulden is injecting fresh optimism into the brand since taking over as CEO in January. During his nearly decade-long tenure as CEO of cross-town rival Puma SE, Gulden refocused the company on sports and tripled its sales, including during the pandemic.
Gulden plans to refocus Adidas on performance sports and accelerate decision-making, including making himself the company’s head of global brands. One of his initial moves has been to scale up production for popular sneakers like the Samba, which has been spotted on celebrities such as Bella Hadid and Kylie Jenner in recent months
