Kanye West has spent his entire career breaking down barriers and leading with a creativity that is arguably unmatched—and those characteristics are exactly why his Yeezy brand has become a massive success in such a short time…a billion-dollar success, according to @Forbes.
When Kanye took his Yeezy label and left Nike for Adidas, no one expected what was to come—and incredibly popular shoe line that has left most of its competitors in the dust. Now, as Ye covers the August issue of Forbes magazine, he takes fans inside his creative process, his inspiration and creating an empire on his own terms.
Kanye’s Yeezy brand is expected to top $1.5 billion in sales by the end of 2019—and it continues to grow at an impressively fast rate, only trailing Nike’s 34-year-old popular Jordan brand with just under half of that brand’s $3 billion worth. Basically, as Ye famously spit in his verse for his 2016 single “Facts” from his album The Life Of Pablo, “Yeezy just jumped over jumpman” could be a reality very soon.
What sets Ye apart from Michael Jordan’s long-running partnership with Nike, is that he owns 100% of Yeezy, gets a 15% royalty deal on all wholesale, plus a marketing fee. In comparison, Jordan only gets 5% of royalties and doesn’t own his brand.
Speaking about what drives him to create, Kanye said:
“I am a product guy at my core. To make products that make people feel an immense amount of joy and solve issues and problems in their life, that’s the problem-solving that I love to do. “There’s a little bit of Lamborghini in everything I do. Yeezy is the Lamborghini of shoes.”
Addressing those that refer to him as “crazy” for his big ideas, he had this to say:
“ ‘Crazy’ is a word that’s not gonna be used loosely in the future. Understand that this is actually a condition that people can end up in, be born into, driven into and go in and out. And there’s a lot of people that have been called that ‘C’ word that have ended up on this cover.”
As for what he has in store for the future of the Yeezy brand? Well, Kanye says that we have only seen a small part of what’s to come:
“We’ve yet to see all of the beauty that would be manifested through this partnership. We’ve only experienced a small glimmer of light.”
You can check out the full Kanye West interview with Forbes when it hits newsstands on August 31st or read it online now.
Roommates, what are your thoughts on Kanye’s billion-dollar Yeezy brand?
