Written by Sinad Karahimetovic
Shares of Gap Inc (NYSE:) fell 3.5% in pre-market trading after the Wall Street Journal reported that rapper and entrepreneur Kanye West has officially informed the company that he is ending their partnership.
West’s lawyers have reportedly sent a letter to Gap notifying them that they are terminating the collaboration due to the termination of the contract. Allegedly, Gap failed to release clothes and open new stores on time. The company was to sell 40% of the Yeezy Gap lineup in the second half of 2021 and open five retail stores dedicated to displaying Yeezy Gap products by July 31, 2023.
Gap has not opened this type of store yet.
Gap and West became partners in 2020 when we announced the Yeezy Gap brand. The latter recently criticized Gap, telling company executives who should give him “the position to be you and let me do what I think, or I should do the thinking elsewhere.”
“It would cost you billions to keep me going,” Mr. West said in an Instagram post that has since been deleted.
He later pledged to open Yeezy stores, starting in Atlanta.
According to a message seen by WSJ, Gap will still be able to sell existing Yeezy Gap products before discontinuing the brand name. The letter allegedly makes no mention of the partnership with Balenciaga that also runs through Gap.
