Gap Shares Drop After Kanye West Threatens to ‘Walk Away’ From Company
Written by SOURCE on July 21, 2020
Kanye West has been making some bold and dramatic statements lately. Yet, his threat to walk away from his deal with Gap might have hurt more than his public perception.
According to CNN Business, Gap’s stock fell close to 6 percent on Monday following the comments West made during his rally in South Carolina. West told the crowd that he’s not on the board at Gap or Adidas, before saying that this “has to change today or I walk away.”
“Risk or no risk of losing whatever deal possible, I am not on the board at Adidas,” Kanye said per Fox Business. “I am not on the board at Gap. And that has to change today or I walk away.”
Kanye’s Yeezy brand signed a ten-year partnership with Gap last month. Through this deal, ‘Ye will produce “modern, elevated basics for men, women, and kids at accessible price points” that set to hit shelves next year. Gap—which has been struggling as of late—initially experienced a spike when it was revealed Kanye was onboard with shares jumping 19 percent. Since then, Kanye has announced his presidential bid, been rumored to be suffering to a manic episode, held a controversial campaign rally in South Carolina, among other antics. This resulted in the Gap losing nearly half of the gains that were generated.
What helped ‘Ye secure his Gap deal was the work he did with Adidas. Through his Yeezy sneakers, Kanye has helped changed the perception of the brand for the current generation. It also helped make him a billionaire. But during the rally, Kanye insisted that he’s willing to leave behind his money and royalties if called to do so by The Lord.
“Because of [Adidas’] 15 percent royalty, it made me into a billionaire, which could make me, off of this speech alone, at zero tomorrow,” he said. “But when God calls Moses, he has to leave his comfy job working for the Egyptians and free the people.”
Neither Gap nor Adidas has responded to Kanye’s comments. Also, West’s rally proved to be unfruitful as he failed to secure a spot on the South Carolina ballot.
