Yeezy is set to make $1.5 billion in sales in 2019.
FORBES VIDEO
Topline: Leaked details of Kanye West’s newest shoe release—the so-called Foam Runner—has drawn the attention of Twitter, which immediately dubbed them “Yeezy Crocs” and lampooned the sneaker for what some saw as a ridiculous design.
- While West himself has not confirmed the news, Yeezy Mafia, a blog that covers Adidas news, got ahold of what appears to be promotional photos of the Foam Runners from the latest issue of The Face magazine.
- The blog even noticed what appears to be a prototype of the “Yeezy Crocs” in a Forbes video interview with West from July.
- West’s daughter North was also first spotted wearing the “Yeezy Crocs” in late June, which first drew speculation about an upcoming sneaker release.
- To be clear, if the Foam Runners are released, Adidas—not Crocs—will do so.
- Twitter users have been roasting the early images of the sneaker. One user tweeted, “Super expensive, weird diamond shape, probably can’t even fit jibbitz smh. Terrible idea, 2/10.”
- According to Yeezy Mafia, the Foam Runner will be released in 2020. There’s no word yet on how much they’ll cost.
Adidas did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Surprising Fact: West’s shoe line still trails Michael Jordan’s sneaker empire in overall sales, but Yeezy is catching up. Jordan’s line does approximately $3 billion in annual sales, according to Forbes, while Yeezy is expected to top $1.5 billion in 2019.
Tangent: Crocs, the clunky yet recognizable foam slip-ons, had their heyday in the mid-2000s, only to fall out of favor by 2009. By then Crocs was in trouble and was forced to cut jobs and limit production. But over the last few years the company’s sales have increased as Crocs have, inexplicably (or perhaps with a tinge of irony), become cool again.
Further Reading: Read West’s August Forbes cover story here.
[“source=forbes”]
