Economy Adidas and the impossible problem of modern judgement

[Two Crows]

I'm going to assume all of the SherBro's reading this are familiar with both Kanye West's comments and his (former) shoe contract with Adidas. Apparently, West has created problems for the company that are unique to our "Age of Awareness".
There are over $1 billion dollars worth of Yeezy-brand shoes sitting in warehouses. Adidas is currently trapped and desperately attempting to find a way to rid themselves of the ongoing storage expenses, but they have not found a solution to avoid angering major activists.
This is all further complicated by Adidas losing a lot of money last year (over a half billion US $), and predicting an even larger loss this year.


1. Why not just sell them?
Offering the product is viewed as "anti-sematic" by many. Worse, West is owed royalties on all sales of Yeezy's, so the company would be generating him a lot of cash. They also discussed re-stitching them to remove the Yeezy logo, but that's more cost, and CEO Bjorn Gulden states "not very honest, and not an option". Never mind fear of lawsuit and the potential to still be seen as collaborators.

2. Burn them?
Environmental agencies have voiced issues related to waste and sustainability.

3. Donate them to refugees?
The company believes the high market value of the shoes will see any donations immediately resold (markets, eBay, whatever). For reference, they were selling ~$600 a pair when this all happened, and now there would be a "collector" aspect.

So what do they do?
I have no idea, but I think the whole situation illustrates not only how EVERY decision bears a cost, but the difficulty of navigating activism with the public awareness of costs. Something has to be done, and no matter what it is, large groups are going to be unhappy.

What the hell are they going to do with all these damn shoes?!?! Lol.


Edit for clarity: Adidas is a German company, not US.

 

[Madmick]

Maybe ask the US government or other international aid agencies for a donation to cover the costs of shipping them to rural Africa. If some (or all) of the shipments mysteriously disappear, and get resold back to first world markets, whatever, I guess, at least you injected some capital into that shithole continent.

 

[brackis1]

Ahh another culture-warrior circle sesh ensues; can't wait.
*bart scott gif*

 

[Two Crows]

Ahh another culture-warrior circle sesh ensues; can't wait.
*bart scott gif*

Put that in English for me?

 

[brackis1]

Put that in English for me?

Not you, just that this type of topic w/ a raging mentally ill person spouting crazy hard-right nonsense and being "cancelled" usually bring out the very best humans the war room has to offer

My vote is selling them under a rebranded name with all proceeds to an anti-hate charity.

 

[Two Crows]

Not you, just that this type of topic w/ a raging mentally ill person spouting crazy hard-right nonsense and being "cancelled" usually bring out the very best humans the war room has to offer

My vote is selling them under a rebranded name with all proceeds to an anti-hate charity.

I think that is the plan.

The CEO said something like they would ensure SOME money from sales went to offended groups, or something similar, if they end up having to sell them.

 

[LMP]

Outrage only last so long then most people move on to the new topic. They seem to have 1.5 million pairs of shoes. They should sell them or donate them. Destroying them is insanity. They should use environmentally concerns to counter any argument for destroying them.

 

[PG29 red0 Jr]

Why not just sell them and then donate a few million to a holocaust museum or something?

 

[Pliny Pete]

That billion dollars worth of merchandise only cost them 47 bucks in materials and slave labor, eat the loss and move on

 

[Two Crows]

That billion dollars worth of merchandise only cost them 47 bucks in materials and slave labor, eat the loss and move on

They aren't worrying about the loss (at least publicly), the problem is HOW to get rid of them without paying Kanye or promoting his brand, while at the same time not upsetting environmentalist.

 

[OneOfOne]

The solution is to stop being fake outraged by supposed anti-semetism and sell the damn shoes. If the public itself cares about Kanye's comments as much as the media and as much as interests groups do then no one will buy them anyway. If the public buys the shoes anyway then it is what is. The public doesn't care about offending certain groups and thats that.

 

[brackis1]

The solution is to stop being fake outraged by supposed anti-semetism and sell the damn shoes. If the public itself cares about Kanye's comments as much as the media and as much as interests groups do then no one will buy them anyway. If the public buys the shoes anyway then it is what is. The public doesn't care about offending certain groups and thats that.

Translation: "I agree with Kanye and share similar hatreds"

 

[OneOfOne]

Translation: "I agree with Kanye and share similar hatreds"

I just don't like cancel culture. And I think silly for people to twist themselves in knots trying to navigate the fake outrage lobby.

 

[brackis1]

I just don't like cancel culture

I'm not shocked to hear that. Totally agree tho; nobody who does anything deserves to be judged based on their actions or words.
See you at the next mensa meeting? I'm bringing a casserole.

 

[OneOfOne]

I'm not shocked to hear that. Totally agree tho; nobody who does anything deserves to be judged based on their actions or words.
See you at the next mensa meeting? I'm bringing a casserole.

I also don't like strawman arguments.

 

[brackis1]

I also don't like strawman arguments.

Very good use of this term. I apologize for confusing cancel culture with normative judgements at a societal level based around one's behavior or beliefs. You'll have to forgive me for not being on your level.

 

[OneOfOne]

Very good use of this term. I apologize for confusing cancel culture with normative judgements at a societal level based around one's behavior or beliefs. You'll have to forgive me for not being on your level.

No forgiveness. You are hereby canceled via normative judgement.

 

[Andy Capp]

The solution is to stop being fake outraged by supposed anti-semetism and sell the damn shoes. If the public itself cares about Kanye's comments as much as the media and as much as interests groups do then no one will buy them anyway. If the public buys the shoes anyway then it is what is. The public doesn't care about offending certain groups and thats that.

One thing's for sure, your idea would give kids a totally different reason for beating other kids up for their shoes.

 

[Broke Lester]

I'm not shocked to hear that. Totally agree tho; nobody who does anything deserves to be judged based on their actions or words.
See you at the next mensa meeting? I'm bringing a casserole.

Of course you are, delivery driver.

 

[SummerStriker]

As someone who owns and profits from shares in all American companies including lockheed martin and dupont, i feel qualified to speak on issues of capitalism and ethics.

All shoes are made with slave labor. All shoes are more evil for reasons worse than what Yee says and does. The game is to avoid eyes when people are ready for a scape goat. They took in Yee because he gets eyes and says wild shit. Big mistake. Sometimes you guess wrong.

Burn the shoes and rip the bandage off.