Beyonce, shown here attending the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards, has the most chances at Grammy gold this year
AFP

KEY POINTS

  • Beyoncé and Adidas agreed to part ways after the upsetting sales of their collab
  • Ivy Park reportedly failed to meet the internal Adidas projections of $250 million in 2022
  • Beyoncé first launched Ivy Park in 2016 before signing a partnership two years later

Beyoncé and Adidas have mutually agreed to cut ties.

Several media outlets, including TMZ and The Hollywood Reporter (THR), reported that the 41-year-old Grammy winner and the Germany-based multinational corporation are parting ways following the upsetting sales produced by the Ivy Park clothing brand in 2022.

Re-launched in 2018, the brand produced weak sales that dropped by more than 50%, generating only about $40 million last year — below Adidas's internal projections for $250 million in sales, according to documents obtained by the Wall Street Journal in February.

The documents noted that Ivy Park did not successfully generate revenue and that Beyoncé received about $20 million in annual compensation.

The activewear brand previously described its collaboration with the "Love On Top" singer as "strong and successful" despite its financial performance. But now both parties have decided to terminate the creative partnership even before its expiry date by the end of 2023.

In 2016, Beyoncé dropped Ivy Park — an athleisure clothing brand — as a joint venture with Topshop's Sir Philip Green. Two years later, the business venture ended, leaving the superstar with full ownership of the brand, THR reported. Eventually, it led to the creative partnership with Adidas to re-launch Ivy Park and develop varying items such as footwear and apparel.

An unnamed source close to the situation told THR that major creative differences prompted the contract termination and that Beyoncé is looking forward to reclaiming her brand and maintaining much more creative freedom.

International Business Times couldn't independently verify the source's claims.

Before the contract ended, the superstar and Adidas dropped the latest collection for Ivy Park called Park Trail, which offered inclusive and gender-neutral sizing in fashion styles, performance gear, footwear and accessories inspired by the "resilience of the outdoors, the spirit of the streets and the possibilities of the future," according to a press release from Adidas in early January.

Park Trail was previewed a day before Beyoncé hit the stage at the launch party for Dubai's Atlantis The Royal hotel, her first full-length live performance since Coachella 2018.

The superstar is slated to embark on her "Renaissance World Tour" in May, spanning different countries in North America and Europe. It will kick off at the Friends Arena in Stockholm, Sweden, on May 10, before hitting the U.S. leg on July 12 at the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

 Adidas' 70th anniversary in Herzogenaurach
Reuters