After teaming up with Adidas to relaunch her sportswear brand Ivy Park in 2018, Beyoncé parted ways with the sportswear giant, in a move that sources told The Hollywood Reporter was mutual.
The breakup was also reportedly due to creative differences between Ivy Park and Adidas, with Beyoncé striving to “reclaim her brand, chart her own course and maintain her creative freedom,” The Reporter wrote.
During what Adidas called a “partnership of a lifetime,” Ivy Park released several collections, with the first release occurring in April 2019. Celebrities like Missy Elliott and Cardi B, Kendall Jenner, Angela Bassett, Ciara, Reese Witherspoon, and Hailey Bieber served as ambassadors for the fashion line.
Despite flashy promotional content, Ivy Park didn’t seem to live up to the hype Adidas was hoping for when Beyoncé initially promised “a guaranteed annual fee and creative oversight,” according to a Wall Street Journal article in February.
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Instead of generating the hundreds of millions in revenue, Adidas was hoping for — the company expected Ivy Park to perform similarly to Ye’s Yeezy brand — Ivy Park launches fewer than sold-out products, with nearly half of the merchandise from five of the six releases in stock remaining in stores.
Those numbers were also well below 2021’s $93 million… And new marketing campaigns starring celebrities like Irina Shark, Yara Shahidi, Megan Thee Stallion, and recent hip-hop breakout artist Ice Spice failed to wow the public enough.
Before the ties were cut, the forecast for 2023 was changed from $335 million to $65 million. Beyoncé’s contract expired at the end of the year, but she’s still on track to earn her $20 million annual salary.
The news lays even shakier ground for Adidas… They’re also forecasting an insane $1.3 billion in sales loss this year after Kanye West’s diversion.
Beyoncé launched Ivy Park in 2016 with top shop owner Sir Philip Green. When the partnership ended in 2018, full ownership of the streetwear brand was taken over by Bey’s Parkwood Entertainment.
Despite the split, Beyoncé has a lot to look forward to amid the rush surrounding her upcoming Renaissance world tour, which kicks off in May. The massive tour has already generated excitement among fans keen to see the star IRL and will kick off in Stockholm and include dates across Europe and North America.
