In Los Angeles on Sunday, a hate group hung a banner over a highway overpass that read, "Honk if you know Kanye is right about the Jews," while offering Nazi salutes to oncoming traffic. A picture of the incident went viral, prompting celebrities and other public figures to call out the German company over its partnership with the artist and his wildly popular Yeezy brand.

But Adidas has instead set release dates for the new line of Yeezy sneakers, even after Ye has floated terminating the endorsement deal himself and disparaged company executives by name.

The partnership, which began in 2013, made Ye a billionaire and helped Adidas reach a new customer base — one that Morningstar analyst David Swartz says helped generate an estimated $2 billion a year, or nearly percent of the company's annual revenue.

But like most major retailers, Adidas also is drowning in excess inventory. Its business in China is also rapidly declining, leading the company to announce on Oct. 20 that it had lowered its profitability outlook for 2022.