(Reuters) -Adidas got orders worth more than 508 million euros (about $565 million) for 4 million pairs of unsold Yeezy shoes, better than the company’s “most optimistic forecast,” the Financial Times reported on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Strong demand for the first batch of online sales would potentially save the German sportswear company from having to take a big writedown on its remaining stock, the newspaper said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Adidas (OTC:ADDYY) stopped selling Yeezy shoes from its defunct partnership with Ye in October after the rapper formerly known as Kanye West made a series of antisemitic comments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Losing the highly profitable line hit first quarter sales at the company by around $440 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, robust demand for the unsold sneakers has quelled fears at Adidas’ headquarters that Ye’s outbursts and a drop in marketing in the recent past would have made the Yeezy brand too toxic, FT said, citing sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Adidas declined to comment saying it was in a “quiet period” ahead of its quarterly results due Aug. 3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The company had said in May it would donate some of the proceeds from the sales to organisations fighting antisemitism and racism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Discussions over how much will be donated to individual charities are ongoing, the FT reported, adding that the company has chosen five charities in the US and China as a first step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Making donations of more than 8.5 million euros across the five charities has been discussed but no decision has been made,” FT said, citing people familiar with the matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The final amount donated from the sales will be much larger as the company is willing to pay a significant share of the profits from the Yeezy inventory, the report said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Adidas had forecast a loss this year before announcing its intentions to sell leftover Yeezy stocks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
($1 = 0.8996 euros)<\/p>\n