Is the Yeezy bubble starting to burst? After making good on his promise and finally making Yeezys available to everyone, for the first time ever Kanye West's sneaker did not sell out within 24 hours of its release date, Matt Powell noted on Twitter, referring to the Yeezy Boost 700 Mauve. Have West's political leanings affected his business?
24 hours later and YEEZY BOOST 700 MAUVE still not sold out. This is going to be a problem for Adidas
— Matt Powell (@NPDMattPowell) October 28, 2018
On Tuesday, he walked back statements that he supported Blexit — a movement calling for Black people to leave the Democratic party — after Candace Owens, Turning Point USA communications director, introduced a new line of T-shirts and caps from the organization, which she said were designed by West at the Young Black Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C. "Blexit is a renaissance and I am blessed to say that this logo, these colors, were created by my dear friend and fellow superhero Kanye West," Owens told Page Six.
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While West has never been known for playing it safe, but according to Footwear News, his latest antics are damaging his brand. "Throughout the past two years, conversation about Kanye West across social channels has been more negative than the average A-list male celebrity benchmark, with his positive to negative sentiment ratio being 24 percent lower than [his peers’],” the research platform Spotted, which analyzes millions of data points in the celebrity endorsement space, said in a report mentioned on Footwear News. "Additionally, Kanye’s behavior has also had a large impact on consumers’ perception of him, with Spotted’s data showing that consumers see Kanye as “wacky,” ranking higher than 97 percent of other celebrities for this attribute."
almost every size still sitting. yikes. ??? pic.twitter.com/51xejeuwst
— skylar bergl (@skylarbergl) October 30, 2018
Kanye's antics have nothing to do with lack of sell thru... I saw the same lines at Saint Alfred and adidas Wicker Park... The Brand produced too many pairs, the allure of exclusivity and FOMO is compromised.
— CHICAGORilla (@CHICAGORilla) October 28, 2018
And let's not forget the resell market is collapsing
— CHICAGORilla (@CHICAGORilla) October 28, 2018
Making too many pairs, price points too high and people are starting to be over the Yeezy hype.
— Joseph Gibson (@JMGibson77) October 28, 2018
Yep. The shoes lost their luster a while ago. His recent antics just helped speed up the inevitable.
— SneakGallery™ (@SneakGallery) October 28, 2018
They making too many. Yeezys ain’t hyped anymore. https://t.co/n8BbhhcMoo
— Mohammed Bazar (@bazar_arab) October 29, 2018
Coincidentally, users on Twitter are speculating if that's why West changed his tune saying he "had been used to spread messages" he claims he didn't believe in. "I'm now myself from politics and completely focusing on being creative!!!" he tweeted. But is it too late? And hey, if all else fails West can give the rest excess stock to kids in Uganda.