The encyclopedia · Strategy & Leadership · Strategic decision · 2018–2023
adidas projected $250M for Beyoncé's Ivy Park — the line made $40M
A partnership signed at the height of celebrity deals ended in 2023 with sales a sixth of projection and no statement from either side.
adidas · Ivy Park · Beyoncé (brand partner) · 2023-03-28
What happened
adidas announced a creative partnership with Beyoncé in April 2018 and signed the deal in April 2019, relaunching her Ivy Park athleisure line with a projection of $250 million in annual sales — a bet at the peak of celebrity-brand deals in sportswear.
The projection did not hold: Ivy Park generated $93 million in 2021 and $40 million in 2022 — roughly a sixth of the forecast. The Wall Street Journal's figures, reported by CBS News and Reuters, put the shortfall in writing before the split became public.
In late March 2023 the partnership ended: the Hollywood Reporter reported on March 23 that the two sides had mutually agreed to part ways, and Reuters confirmed the split on March 28, citing the Journal. Neither side issued a statement; adidas declined to comment, and the line was wound down without an announcement.
Why it happened
- A $250M projection attached to one name is a forecast of celebrity pull — when sales came in at a sixth of it, the number itself became the story.
- The quiet ending was the decision: no statements, no blame, just a wind-down — the way a bad contract is not renewed.
- The 2018 announcement had borrowed its energy from the Yeezy playbook; by 2023 that playbook was itself in question at adidas.
The lesson
A projection of celebrity pull is not a sales forecast — when the line makes a sixth of the number, the deal ends quietly, with no statement from either side.
Aftermath
Ivy Park was wound down during 2023 without an official announcement; adidas declined to comment and neither side said anything publicly. The partnership had been signed in April 2019, when celebrity-athleisure deals were peaking — it ended four years later with sales at a sixth of the projection.
Sources
- Hollywood Reporter — Beyoncé, Adidas Mutually Agree to Part Ways on Ivy Park, 23 Mar 2023 (first report of the split)
- Reuters (via Wayback Machine) — Adidas ends partnership with Beyoncé, WSJ reports, 28 Mar 2023 (split confirmed; adidas declined to comment)
- CBS News — Adidas, Beyoncé end Ivy Park partnership, 28 Mar 2023 (WSJ figures: $93M in 2021, $40M in 2022 vs $250M projection)
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