Gap is ending its tense partnership with Ye (formerly Kanye West), according to an internal email sent to Gap Inc. employees by Mark Breitbard, president and chief executive of the Gap brand.
”Simply put…while we share a vision of bringing high-quality, trend-forward, utilitarian design to all people through unique omni experiences with Yeezy Gap, how we work together to deliver this vision is not aligned,” it stated. “And we are deciding to wind down the partnership.”
The move marks an abrupt end to the deal struck in 2020 that was originally meant to last 10 years and that Gap hoped could help revitalise its brand. Lawyers for West had sent notice to Gap informing the company that West wanted to terminate the deal, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Lately West had been airing his frustrations about the Gap partnership and his deal with Adidas on social media.”
We are truly grateful to our Yeezy Gap team members who have given so much to build this brand, and we will take the new, hyper-entrepreneurial ways of working we learned through this process with us as we move forward,” Breitbard’s email said. “We will focus on our strategies to strengthen the brand and continually push the boundaries of what Gap can deliver.”
Stay tuned to BoF for updates on this developing story.
