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☆ ‘Fresh, Fly, and Fabulous: Fifty Years of Hip Hop Style’ Review: From Gritty to Gucci
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( Laura Jacobs | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

New York‘And I walk down the street and bop to the beat / With Lee on my leg and Adidas on my feet.” In 1986, Run-DMC released “My Adidas,” a love song to those sneakers. Not only was it a big hit but it won the rap group a million-dollar endorsement deal, a first in the world of hip-hop. Walk into any high-end shoe salon and half the real estate in the room belongs to designer sneakers: high-tops and low-tops, platformed, blingy and logoed. The subculture of hip-hop—which takes in MCs, DJs, VJs, break dancers, rappers and “aerosol” artists—is now thoroughly mainstream. “Fresh, Fly and Fabulous: Fifty Years of Hip Hop Style” at the Museum at FIT shows how.

☆ Moody's cuts Adidas credit rating to A3 after profit warning
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 17 (Reuters) - Moody's on Friday dowgraded Adidas' (ADSGn.DE) long-term issuer rating one notch to A3 from A2, citing the sportswear maker's recent profit warning, and left the door open to a further cut as it maintained a negative outlook on the company. Adidas warned on Feb. 9 that it could plunge to a loss this year for the first time in three decades, in the latest downgrade triggered by its split from Kanye West, as it raised the possibility of entirely writing off the inventory of the rapper and fashion designer's Yeezy brand. Moody's said that even though it had expected a weak operating performance from Adidas in the next 12 to 18 months, its actual guidance was "well below Moody's expectations." While it described the company's new outlook as conservative and noted its leading position in the global sportswear industry and strong brand, Moody's said its negative outlook reflected "the substantial uncertainty around the near-term improvements of adidas' credit metrics and liquidity profile following the release of a very weak earnings guidance for 2023." ($1 = 0.9373 euros)Reporting by Tristan Chabba in Gdansk Editing by Tomasz JanowskiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Buffett TSMC's U-turn spotlights chips' siren call
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HONG KONG, Feb 16 (Reuters Breakingviews) - A lot can change in three months, especially in the world of semiconductor investing. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRKa.N) inexplicably sold most of its $4.1 billion holding in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (2330.TW), a position only disclosed in November. For TSMC, Berkshire probably pocketed a 9% return, Reuters reported citing analyst estimates, having held the stake for roughly three months. He may be right about TSMC, which boasts a monopoly in advanced chipmaking and superior profitability - the "moats" Buffett prizes so highly. Moat or no moat, the outlook for chips is getting dicey.

☆ Inside Tracy Anderson's cutthroat fitness empire: Legal threats, paranoia, and trainers who say their bodies were 'breaking apart'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Katie Warren | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +29 min

One day around 2015, a dozen or so gift boxes showed up at the Brentwood, California, studio of the celebrity fitness trainer Tracy Anderson. "It was an exclusive boutique fitness studio," the former New York trainer said. Darren Gerrish/WireImageThe method demanded that TA trainers, most of whom were also professional dancers, perform the strenuous workouts full out, every time. Let's help you do it correctly so you don't get injured,'" the former New York trainer said. "This is at a time where everyone is already overworked," one of the former New York trainers said.

☆ Ford deal shows U.S. EVs can’t unplug from China
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

It’s evident that President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act “did what it was intended to do”, according to one executive. Ford Motor (F.N) is licensing technology and services from China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology (300750.SZ), rather than buying batteries directly or forming a joint venture. This unusual setup allows the American auto veteran to use CATL’s lithium ferro-phosphate (LFP) chemistry whilst satisfying the IRA’s demands. As automakers start mass-producing electric vehicles, they will depend on Chinese suppliers, wherever they locate their factories. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ Silly Meta, Roblox isn’t just for kids
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Feb 15 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Video-game and social-media hub Roblox (RBLX.N) isn’t playing around when it comes to expanding its audience. The company behind MeepCity and Royale High has been racing alongside Meta Platforms (META.O) to turn the metaverse into more than just a vague buzzword. Despite being unprofitable and considerably smaller than Facebook’s owner, it is putting up a solid fight. Meta is mulling ways to attract younger users, including maybe opening the game up to minors older than 13. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

PARIS, Feb 14 (Reuters) - LVMH (LVMH.PA) top label Louis Vuitton said on Tuesday it has hired Pharrell Williams to head artistic direction of its menswear designs, tapping a popular figure from the music industry to fill the high-profile position left vacant since the passing of star designer Virgil Abloh over a year ago. "Louis Vuitton is delighted to welcome @Pharrell as its new Men’s Creative Director", Louis Vuitton said in a tweet, confirming earlier reports from the Wall Street Journal and the French daily Le Figaro. loadingWilliams' first collection for the label will be shown in June during Men's Fashion Week in Paris, the brand added. Williams rose to fame in the music business as a producer and singer with hits including "Happy" and "Blurred Lines." "Happy," written for the animated movie "Despicable Me 2," earned Williams one of his two Oscar nominations.

☆ Pharrell Williams was just named the new creative director of Louis Vuitton's menswear division
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Louis Vuitton tapped musician and entrepreneur Pharrell Williams as its next "Men's Creative Director." On Tuesday, he added "Men's Creative Director" of Louis Vuitton to that list, according to an announcement on LVMH's site. When Louis Vuitton named Virgil Abloh its artistic director for menswear in 2018, he became the first black American to lead a European luxury fashion house. "I am glad to welcome Pharrell back home, after our collaborations in 2004 and 2008 for Louis Vuitton, as our new Men's Creative Director. Analysts say that at $20 billion, Louis Vuitton is the biggest luxury brand in the world, according to The Wall Street Journal.

☆ Rothschild holdouts have little chance of a bump
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 14 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The dynasty behind famed investment bank Rothschild & Co (ROTH.PA) has sided with France’s business elite to buy out minority investors on the cheap. Any potential holdouts, though, have little hope. If they miss that threshold, the Rothschild family can keep whatever shares they get. That means they could just try the whole thing again next year – but starting from a higher ownership base. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ TikTokers are roasting McDonald's hilarious drive-thru AI order fails — and it shows that robots won't take over restaurants any time soon
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Another TikToker generated 97,000 views on a post, where she explained how "robots are taking over the world" and they're messing up her McDonald's order. She said the voice bot put 9 sweet teas on her order tab, when she only ordered one sweet tea. In the bot's defense, McDonald's restaurants don't serve Mountain Dew products. Those restaurants still have restaurant workers taking orders, but some McDonald's restaurants have voice bots. Checkers & Rally's, Taco Bell, Sonic, Panera Bread, and Popeyes are testing voice bots in drive-thru lanes.

☆ Adidas is facing a problem even bigger than Yeezy
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Danni Santana | Mary Hanbury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Adidas expects sales to drop by $1.28 billion in 2023 if it doesn't sell leftover Yeezy inventory. The company's guidance began on a bleak note with revenue for the year expected to drop after ending its Yeezy partnership. Against this background, Adidas said it is forecasting a decline in the high-single digits in sales in 2023. "The sales decline is about more than just Yeezy," Bernstein analyst Aneesha Sherman wrote in a note to clients early Friday. Cowen estimates the brand earned $1.2 billion in sales last year before Adidas terminated the partnership in October.

☆ Alibaba exit is first remedy for Paytm’s woes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MUMBAI, Feb 13 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Alibaba’s (9988.HK), exit will be a relief for India’s Paytm (PAYT.NS). The move makes sense for Alibaba, though Paytm’s other Chinese backer, Ant, may find it harder to cash out. Paytm’s languishing stock is up over 27% in four days following the better-than-expected quarterly numbers. That allowed Alibaba’s Singapore arm to exit the company at 643 rupees per share, a decent 10% higher than its average purchase price. That implies Paytm’s stock still has a steep climb before the Chinese payments group may be willing to sell.

☆ Kanye West is no longer a billionaire after being dumped by Adidas, but is still worth $400 million. Here's how he spent his money.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-12 | by ( Stephanie Stacey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Major companies have severed ties with Ye in the wake of recent antisemitic comments. His net worth has been slashed, per Forbes, but he's still worth $400 million. Ye's assets include his music catalog, extensive real estate portfolio, and numerous vehicles. He's now lost the long-sought title, but is still worth a healthy $400 million, per Forbes, which ranks him the 2,543th richest person in the world. was dropped by Def Jam, per The New York Times, and he's no longer represented by Creative Artists Agency.

☆ Retail CEO crisis: With recent shakeups at Kohl's, Adidas, Dollar General, and more, the industry's top job is suddenly the hardest to fill
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( Matthew Kish | Avery Hartmans | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

It's the surest sign yet of a crisis facing the retail industry. Supply chains got snarled, shoppers stopped visiting stores, and stimulus payments spiked demand, each making it difficult to measure how business was doing. Then stimulus payments sent demand for everything from sneakers to home goods spiking while supply chains snarled. And just when supply chains started to sort themselves out, inflation hit, and shoppers started to scale back spending. Retail CEOs need 'peripheral vision'Workers at Starbucks stores and Amazon warehouses across the country have pushed to unionize, with many calling out the pay disparity between front-line workers and top executives.

☆ Adidas Profit Warning Knocks Share Price, Highlights Challenge for New CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Trefor Moss | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Bjørn Gulden took the top job at Adidas at the start of the year, after leading a turnaround of crosstown rival Puma. Adidas AG shares dropped 12% after the German sportswear giant warned it could swing to a loss this year following the termination of its Yeezy partnership with rapper Kanye West. Adidas said late Thursday that it expected a sharp fall in sales for 2023 because of the impact of not selling existing Yeezy stock, and could post a loss if it failed to sell existing inventory.

☆ Adidas forecast for 2023 sales slump spooks investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Adidas flagged that it expects a high single-digit decline in sales this year, sending its shares more than 10% lower in premarket trade early on Friday. Analysts on average had expected a 4% rise in 2023 revenue on a currency-neutral basis and operating profit of 1.02 billion euros, according to a consensus published on Adidas' website. The news came as it missed its own forecasts with a rise of just 1% in 2022 revenue in currency-neutral terms. Jefferies cut its recommendation on Adidas stock to "hold" from "buy", citing "challenges in articulating the mid-term profit delivery". ($1 = 0.9307 euros)Reporting by Victoria Waldersee and Maria Sheahan; editing by Kirsten Donovan and Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Adidas Warns of Losses Stemming From Yeezy Fallout
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Trefor Moss | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Adidas said unsold inventory from its Yeezy collaboration with rapper Kanye West, such as these shoes, could deliver a 1.2 billion euro hit to revenues. Adidas AG warned it could swing to a loss in 2023 should it fail to sell its inventory of Yeezy shoes, following the termination of its partnership with rapper Kanye West. The German sportswear giant on Thursday said it expected sales to fall at a high single-digit rate in currency-neutral terms because of the “significant adverse impact of not selling the existing stock” from the once-lucrative Yeezy collaboration. This would lower revenues by 1.2 billion euros (about $1.29 billion), and operating profit by 500 million euros, it said.

☆ New Adidas CEO throws Yeezy in kitchen sink
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

But if Adidas decides to write off the Yeezy inventory altogether, it will lose another 500 million euros. In the worst scenario, with one-off costs in 2023 of up to 200 million euros, the $27 billion sportswear maker expects to report a 700 million euro operating loss this year. The company had already announced that ending its partnership with the musician would shrink its net income by 250 million euros in 2022. Shareholders however seem surprised that Adidas might not try to repurpose the trainers, instead of writing off the inventory. Yeezy is not the only problem for Adidas.

☆ Adidas says dropping Kanye West could cost it more than $1 billion in sales
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Adidas’ breakup with Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, is a pricey one. The company warned Thursday that it’s expected to lose $1.3 billion (1.2 billion euro) in revenue this year because it’s unable to sell the designer’s Yeezy clothing and shoes. Adidas said selling the sneakers under its own branding would save the company about $300 million in royalty payments and marketing fees. Other options including destroying it or donating unsold Yeezy clothing. Adidas said it also expects “one-off costs” of $213 million (200 million euro) because of a “strategic review” the company is currently undergoing.

☆ Adidas shares tank after it issues warning over unsold Yeezy stock
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Hannah Ward-Glenton | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

"The numbers speak for themselves. We are currently not performing the way we should", Adidas CEO Bjørn Gulden said in a press release. Adidas could lose around 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) in revenue in 2023 if it is unable to sell its existing Yeezy stock. "The numbers speak for themselves. Adidas' revenues increased 1% in 2022, based on unaudited numbers, while operating profit dropped from almost 2 billion euros in 2021, to 669 million euros in 2022.

☆ Premarket stocks: Share buybacks could beat last year's record $1.2 trillion
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Companies have announced about $175 billion worth of planned stock buybacks so far this year. This year will likely be the first with at least $1 trillion in completed S&P 500 company buybacks, said Howard Silverblatt at S&P Dow Jones Indices. ▸ GM (GM) just inked an exclusive deal for the hottest product in automaking: Semiconductors. The strong dollar is hurting multinationalsThe rip-roaring dollar cut deeply into the earnings of multinational companies selling their wares overseas last quarter. “We got hit with that.”McDonald’s (MCD) and 3M (MMM) also said in earnings reports that they were worried that the strong dollar would affect future sales.

☆ Adidas forecasts high single-digit sales decline in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Adidas (ADSGn.DE) said on Thursday its revenue grew by 1% in currency-neutral terms in 2022, lagging its forecasts, and flagged that it expects a high single-digit decline in sales in 2023. The sporting goods maker said not selling its existing Yeezy stock could reduce revenue by around 1.2 billion euros ($1.29 billion) in 2023 and operating profit by around 500 million. Writing off the inventory altogether would lead to an additional 500 million euro drop in operating profit, it said, along with one-off costs in 2023 of up to 200 million euros as part of a review to return to profitable growth in 2024. "Against this background, Adidas expects currency-neutral sales to decline at a high-single-digit rate in 2023," it said in its statement. ($1 = 0.9307 euros)Reporting by Victoria Waldersee; Editing by Susan FentonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ How Budweiser Tackled a Beer-Free World Cup
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Katie Deighton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +9 min

In the end, the brewer found a way to navigate the World Cup beer-free and roll with the media attention that the alcohol ban generated. Soccer’s 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar ran from Nov. 20 to Dec. 18. World Cup sponsors Kia and Adidas similarly maintained their reputational scores, according to the Morning Consult data. Budweiser doesn’t pay a reported $75 million for the official beer sponsorship of the World Cup just to serve beer at stadiums. But the ban on alcoholic Budweiser undermined the impetus for being at the World Cup, Mr. Marcondes said.

☆ Adidas could lose over $750 million as it tries to figure out what do do with its stockpile of Yeezys
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Danni Santana | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Adidas may lose over $700 million in operating profits in 2023 if it doesn't sell off excess Yeezys. Adidas has said it plans to sell Yeezys without Ye after the business relationship ended in October. According to a company statement Thursday, Adidas stands to lose over $750 million in operating profits in 2023 if it does not sell off excess Yeezy inventory. But fans of Adidas Yeezys are split on whether they would buy the shoes without a Ye connection. Adidas immediately brought its Yeezy business to a halt and asked wholesale partners to do the same.

☆ Beyoncé’s Clothing Line With Adidas Suffers From Weak Sales
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Khadeeja Safdar | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Singer Beyoncé performing last month in Dubai, where she unveiled the next release of her Ivy Park brand merchandise. Beyoncé fans are clamoring for tickets to her world tour, but the music superstar is having a harder time finding buyers for her line of inclusive streetwear. Beyoncé’s fashion partnership with Adidas AG has produced weak sales of her Ivy Park clothing brand, according to documents and people familiar with the matter, leaving a roughly $200 million hole in the company’s annual projections.

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