New York
CNN Business
—
As the corporate backlash against Kanye West mounts, Gap announced it was pulling the rapper’s Yeezy Gap product line from its stores and shut down YeezyGap.com. Additionally, Foot Locker is removing Yeezy products from its shelves.
“The recent remarks and behavior of our former partner further underscores why we are taking immediate action to remove Yeezy Gap product from our stores,” the retailer said in a statement Tuesday.
In recent weeks, retailers, social media platforms, celebrities, and fashion and entertainment companies have walked away from business alliances with West over anti-Semitic remarks on a podcast and on Twitter, among other behavior. controversial.
“Anti-Semitism, racism and hatred in any form are inexcusable and not tolerated in accordance with our values. On behalf of our customers, employees and shareholders, we partner with organizations that fight hate and discrimination,” Gap announced.
Gap’s decisions follow Adidas’ statement on Tuesday that the company had terminated its partnership with West, who legally changed his name to Ye, with “immediate effect”.
Also on Tuesday, a spokesperson for retailer Foot Locker
(FL) said that while it remains “a partner of adidas and offers a wide assortment of their collections – we will not be supporting any future shipments of Yeezy products, and have instructed our retail operators to remove any product of our shelves and our digital sites”.
Gap inc.
(GPS) and Kanye West last month both announced that they were ending a 10 years of partnership who was signed in 2020 with his fashion company Yeezy.
Yeezy Gap’s first piece was a $200 jacket, which sold out instantly online when it launched. A handful of the brand’s later launches, including more jackets and hoodies, also sold out instantly.
West has expanded its sold-out Yeezy Gap lineup by bringing luxury leading fashion brand Balenciaga to launch the “Yeezy Gap Engineered By Balenciaga” collection. In July, the collection is marketed for the first time in Gap stores.
In mid-September, West said he was ending his partnership with Gap due to “material non-compliance”. Balenciaga announced last week that it was cutting ties with Ye.
Rapper Nicholas Gravante’s attorney said in a statement in September that West had “no choice but to end their collaboration” because he alleges the retailer severed their partnership by not opening a Yeezy-branded stores and distributing its apparel as originally planned, among other issues. .
Gap confirmed the same day that it had ended the partnership with Yeezy. But had originally said existing merchandise would continue to be sold in company stores and on its website through the first half of 2023, a move it has now reversed.
