Beyoncé and Adidas End Creative Partnership After Five Years
Grammy-winning artist Beyoncé and German lifestyle brand Adidas parted ways after a five-year creative partnership, according to Hollywood Reporter.
The collaboration allowed Beyoncé to relaunch her Ivy Park activewear brand in 2018. However, Beyoncé’s brand and Adidas could not agree on their creative differences.
Hollywood Reporter said Beyoncé “is excitedly looking to reclaim her brand, chart her own path and maintain creative freedom.”
Why did Beyoncé and Adidas split?
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Beyoncé is a music icon dubbed “Queen Bey.” She is famous for classic hits such as “Run The World (Girls)” and “Irreplaceable.”
She made history last month after becoming the most-awarded artist in Grammy’s history, winning her 32nd honor.
However, she also had a sportswear brand named Ivy Park after collaborating with Adidas. The latter referred to the joint project as the “partnership of a lifetime.”
Ivy Park launched its first collection in April 2019 with a massive PR campaign. It sent closet-size bright orange boxes to various celebrities.
These included prominent names, such as Reese Witherspoon, Kendall Jenner, Missy Elliot, and Haily Beiber. Unfortunately, Beyoncé’s clothing line did not meet the expectations of Adidas.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the latter was so optimistic about Ivy Park that it promised “guaranteed annual fees and creative control” to Beyoncé.
It hoped Beyoncé’s fitness apparel brand would perform similarly to Kanye’s Yeezy. Sadly, Ivy Park undersold, with around half of the merchandise from five of the six releases staying on shelves.
It sold $200 million less than what Adidas hoped. Moreover, the Wall Street Journal noted differences in strategy between Bey’s brand and Adidas.
Fortunately, Bey stood tall and said she “is excitedly looking to reclaim her brand, chart her own path and maintain creative freedom.”
Beyoncé expects great things ahead as she will launch her Renaissance World Tour in May. Fans are already raving in anticipation of seeing the superstar in a live event again.
The mega-tour will start in Stockholm and then span various countries in North America and Europe before wrapping up in New Orleans.
Meanwhile, Adidas CEO Bjorn Gulden held his first-ever press conference and discussed the need to “kickstart” the brand after splitting with Ye.
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Yeezy was an effective money-maker for Adidas, but the termination of the partnership caused net losses of $540 million last year.
It could lose up to $1.3 billion in revenue if it could not repurpose the Yeezy merch. Worse, Adidas is yet to decide what to do with the inventory.
