Kanye West ends lucrative clothing deal with Gap

Kanye West has prematurely terminated his shoe and clothing deal with Gap, his attorney confirmed to CBS MoneyWatch.

In a letter sent to the retailer on Thursday, West’s attorney, Nicholas Gravant Jr., told the retailer that he had not fulfilled certain contractual obligations. Some of these include failing to sell certain Yeezy apparel in Gap stores last year and opening stores that only sold Yeezy apparel. Gravante said his client — which officially goes to you — will now focus on opening its Yeezy apparel stores.

“You diligently tried to resolve these issues directly with Gap and through the council (but) got nowhere,” Gravante told CBS MoneyWatch. “Gap left him no choice but to terminate his contract.”

Gap did not immediately respond to a request for comment about its business relationship with West. Gap CEO Mark Breitbard sent an email to staff Thursday confirming that the company is “making the decision to terminate the partnership.”

In 2020, Gap and Hip Hop Star The ink In what was supposed to be a 10-year deal he designed Yeezy-branded merchandise to be sold in Gap stores. West received royalties and gap stock based on sales of Yeezy items, which quickly became a hit with shoppers. For example, a Yeezy hoodie was introduced a year ago. Online sales In less than 24 hours.

West’s departure from Gap will likely hurt the rapper-turned-fashion designer’s net worth. In 2021, Bloomberg named him the richest black American, with a net worth of $6 billion. Between $3.2 billion and $4.7 billion of that net worth comes from West’s partnerships with Gap and Adidas, according to investment bank UBS.

“Just too much”?

West has ended his relationship with the company for the second time since leaving Gap. He worked at a Gap location as a teenager growing up in Chicago. You detailed his gap job and racism in your song “Spaceship.”

Neil Saunders, managing director of Global Data Retail, said the Ye-Gap divorce was not entirely unexpected. Saunders described Gap as “a cautious company with a stoic brand that generally avoids bold moves”, while calling you “a radical innovator who likes to shake things up”. Describes as

“In some ways, Kanye was extreme for Gap,” Sanders said in emailed comments, adding that West’s departure was “a blow to the brand.”

Gap Reported It posted a net loss of $49 million during its second-quarter earnings call last month. Citing poor sales of its Old Navy brand, the company also reported an 8 percent drop in revenue to $3.86 billion.

Gap shares fell 3% to $9.06 on Thursday and are down 73% over the past year.

The messy breakup may end up in court, but “it’s just going to be more of a distraction for Gap at a time when it needs to revive its core business,” Sanders said.

West has also recently feuded with Adidas, accusing the German athletic apparel company of launching a Yeezy Day shopping event without his knowledge. Adidas and Ye signed an apparel partnership agreement in 2014.

Fellow musicians-turned-entrepreneurs Sean “Daddy” Combs and Kasim “Swizz Beatz” Dean have vowed to stop buying Adidas until the company mends its relationship with West. In recent weeks, Ye expressed her frustration with both Adidas and Gap through Instagram posts that she later deleted.