Photo Credit: Henry & Co.
Beyonce’s line of streetwear fashion with Adidas is struggling with weaker-than-expected sales.
Adidas’ partnership with the singer’s Ivy Park clothing brand hasn’t reached sales expectations, reports the Wall Street Journal. The result is a $200 million hole in the company’s annual projections. Sales of Ivy Park dropped more than 40% last year—well below projections of $250 million in sales for the year. “The documents show Ivy Park has been losing money for Adidas, and Beyonce gets about $20 million in annual compensation,” reads the WSJ report.
Adidas’ partnership with Beyonce ends in 2023 and executives are discussing ending or revamping it. The company has refused to comment and says the Ivy Park partnership is ‘strong and successful.’ “We continue to be inspired by our collective vision and are proud of the work we have created together,” an Adidas spokesperson told the Journal.
Adidas’ future outlook was already pretty grim with the implosion of its multi-billion dollar deal with rapper Kanye West. Kanye West went on a tour of antisemitic comments in 2022—resulting in his bank dropping him and the end of his Adidas and Gap partnerships. Now it sounds like the Beyonce Ivy Park partnership isn’t paying off, either.
Beyonce created the Ivy Park clothing brand in 2016 through a partnership with Philip Green. The singer later bought full ownership of the brand in 2018 following allegations of worker abuse. In 2019, Adidas announced it would collaborate with Bey, who called the deal a “partnership of a lifetime.” Adidas was hoping Beyonce’s status as a world-famous pop-star would attract female fans the same way Kanye could sell sneakers.
“In five of the last six Ivy Park releases, roughly half of the merchandise that was produced went unsold,” according to documents reviewed by the Wall Street Journal. Beyonce unveiled the latest Ivy Park release in Dubai last month—while throwing an exclusive concert for a resort opening in the city.