Kanye West is tired of being played by old money establishments. The Donda rapper made a rare appearance on CNBC’s Closing Bell to announce that he is terminating his longterm deal with GAP, Inc. The serial business mogul’s main contention with the clothing retailer — GAP refused to expand the Yeezy x GAP collection to its own brick and mortar stores and was not receptive to Ye’s ideas for product design and price points.
According to West, the partnership agreed via contract to open stores specifically for the Yeezy brand. Instead, GAP opted to do pop-up stores and online distribution to unapproved sites. It was a disappointment for West who had went out of his way to enlist the head fashion designer of Balenciaga, Demna Gvasalia, to help with design for a highly-anticipated, collaborative collection.
West shared, “It was very frustrating. It was very disheartening because I just put everything I had, I put all my top relationships — I went and got Demna, the head designer of Balenciaga, which is one of the hottest brands in the world to come. He does couture and with that relationship he ended working on the GAP collection for me.”
Beyond an alleged breach of contract, West wanted a high quality, high value brand that matched those of top designers that would sell at affordable prices. West claims that the company set Yeezy prices high, while duplicating his clothing line for GAP and distributing the pieces at lower price points.
“I wasn’t able to set the actual price that I wanted for this collection and then, they actually took one of the shirts and sold it for $19,” West said in the interview. “Priced my stuff at, like, $200 and above their whole price point normally, and then did the exact shirt for $20.”
With a keen understanding of his fanbase and market appeal, West was able to earn nearly billions in revenue for his Yeezy brand, even pulling in younger consumers to GAP, who was on a downtrend in cultural relevancy and market share. An example of West’s appeal was further my apparent when hoodies from the Yeezy line sold out in one day, breaking a record for GAP, Inc. Despite this, West was given little say so in the direction of his brand.
He continued, “Sometimes, I would talk to the guys, the heads up, the leaders, and it would just be like I was on mute or something. Our agenda, it wasn’t aligned.”
As of 2022, GAP, which includes fashion brands Banana Republic, Athleta, and Old Navy, has been struggling financially to stay above water. Sonia Syngal, Chief Executive of GAP, stated that the fashion chain was mainly hemorrhaging in sales through its Old Navy. There’s also issues with supply chain operations, changing consumer tastes, and dwindling demand due to inflation. At the time of West’s announcement, Gap shares were down to $8.95 per share.
West’s takeaway from the partnership: “A king can’t live in someone else’s castle. A king has to make his own castle.”
Watch the Interview:
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