Fresh off a defining night of her career at Sunday’s award ceremony where she was crowned the winner of the most Grammy awards in history, some are calling into doubt Beyoncé’s ability to translate that energy into profitability for Adidas and their Ivy Park collab with the the singer.
A Wall Street Journal report on Wednesday suggested that the collaboration line is missing sales projections by a wide mile, based on comments from people familiar with the numbers and reports they were provided.
Forbes followed up on the Journal story and an Adidas spokesperson told Forbes its assumptions about Ivy Park are “not correct.” Forbes reported that the partnership with Ivy Park is “strong and successful” and it continues “to be inspired by our collective vision and are proud of the work we have created together.”
Adidas responded to SGB Media’s outreach on the story with a standard quote.
“Our partnership is strong and successful,” the company suggested to SGB media in an email response. “As part of our valued strategic partnership with lvy Park, we continue to be inspired by our collective vision and are proud of the work we have created together. As a matter of principle, we do not disclose key financial figures for individual product categories.”
According to WSJ, the Adidas x Ivy Park collection produced roughly $40 million in sales in 2022, down from $93 million in 2021. Adidas had projected the line would do $250 million in sales in 2022. The report suggested that Adidas is losing $10 million a year on the line while Beyoncé is still earning $20 million a year from the deal.
Adidas is apparently forecasting the x Ivy Park line will do $63 million in sales in 2023. The latest collection Adidas x Beyoncé Park Trails is set to launch on Thursday.
The Journal reported that Adidas had hoped to replicate the success it had with Kanye West’s since-cancelled Yeezy brand but Adidas and Beyoncé’s team reportedly disagreed on how to market the brand. Sources also reportedly told the Journal that Beyoncé didn’t appear as often as West did wearing her own line in paparazzi shots, though she did appear in advertisements.
Forbes reported that Beyoncé first launched Ivy Park as an activewear collection with Topshop in 2016. In 2018, she purchased full ownership of the brand. The next year, Adidas collaborated with her on the brand.
The contract between Ivy Park and Adidas is set to end after 2023.