Kanye West Ends Partnership With Gap

Kanye West (Photo: Tinseltown / Shutterstock.com)

KANYE WEST's lawyers notified the GAP that the rapper was terminating his partnership with the company, citing their failure to meet its obligations under their agreement. 

The attorneys claimed GAP breached its contact by not selling the YEEZY GAP-branded products at its physical retail outlets and failed to open dedicated stores for the brand.

The company can continue to sell existing YEEZY GAP products before ceasing to use the brand name following the sell-off period. Shares in its parent BANANA REPUBLIC fell about 4% to $8.99 in yesterday's afternoon trading.

WEST signed a 10-year deal with GAP in 2020 to create a line of clothing under the YEEZY GAP brand. The first product from the line - a blue puffer jacket - sold out within hours of its launch in JUNE 2021.

"GAP left (KANYE) no choice but to terminate their agreement ... YE will now promptly move forward to make up for lost time by opening YEEZY retail stores," KANYE's lawyer NICHOLAD GRAVANTE JR. noted..

Ties between the rapper and the clothing company have been fraught recently, with WEST taking to social media to threaten to walk away from the brand earlier this month. 

GLOBALDATA Managing Director NEIL SAUNDERS told REUTERS, "KANYE's decision to terminate his partnership with GAP will come as a blow to the brand, which had pinned its hopes on his magic to help revitalize interest in its ailing business."

Top boss SONIA SYNGAL abruptly left GAP in JULY, with the company struggling to protect margins and pull in sales, blaming inflation and outdated styles with its OLD NAVY brands. 

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