By Senad Karaahmetovic
Shares of Gap Inc (NYSE:GPS) are down 3.5% in premarket trading after the Wall Street Journal reported that rapper and entrepreneur Kanye West formally informed the company that he is terminating their partnership.
West’s lawyers reportedly sent a letter to Gap to notify them they’re terminating the collaboration due to the contract break. Allegedly, Gap failed to release apparel and open new stores on time. The company had to sell 40% of the Yeezy Gap assortment in the second half of 2021 and open five retail stores dedicated to showcasing Yeezy Gap products by July 31, 2023.
Gap is yet to open this type of store.
Gap and West became partners in 2020 when they announced the Yeezy Gap brand. The latter recently criticized Gap, telling the firm’s executives that have to give him “the position to be Ye and let me do what I’m thinking, or I have to do the thinking somewhere else.”
“It’s going to cost you billions to keep me. It’s going to cost you billions to let me go,” Mr. West said in an Instagram post that has since been deleted.
He then later pledged to open Yeezy stores, starting in Atlanta.
According to the letter seen by the WSJ, Gap will still be able to sell existing Yeezy Gap products before ceasing to use the brand name. The letter allegedly doesn’t mention the partnership with Balenciaga that also runs through Gap.