Collectors in UAE hold on to Yeezys as brands boycott Kanye West


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Members of the UAE's thriving shoe collectors scene are choosing to wait instead of selling off their hauls of the hugely popular Yeezy shoes.

On Wednesday, Google searches for the phrase "sell Yeezy" skyrocketed by 581 per cent according to data commissioned by Celeb Tattler, following news that adidas was severing ties with the brand's founder Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West.

Months after saying it was putting the relationship "under review", the German sportswear retailer announced it had decided to end the hugely successful partnership with Ye on Tuesday, following a series of anti-Semitic comments.

“Adidas does not tolerate anti-Semitism and any other sort of hate speech," adidas said. “Ye’s recent comments and actions have been unacceptable, hateful and dangerous, and they violate the company’s values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness."

The break-up has created a morass over the future of the brand, valued to be between $3.2 billion to $4.7 billion by investment bank UBS Group. It has also set off a flurry of activities within shoe collector communities, many of whom buy, hold and resell Yeezy models for huge sums of money.

"The entire shoe reselling market was built around Yeezys. It was the brand that started it all," says Kevin Ghassemi, founder of online shoe reselling store Snkr Bubble.

Ghassemi, 18, who turned his hobby into a thriving business in Dubai last year, says he's holding on to his 50-plus pairs of Yeezys for now because he believes demand will rise.

Kevin Ghassemi founded Snkr Bubble in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National
Kevin Ghassemi founded Snkr Bubble in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

"Prices will go up at least by 50 per cent," he tells The National. "In the last few years, the market has been saturated with Yeezys because they've been releasing so many models and colourways, which led to the brand's value going down.

"But now that production will stop, the brand will be more hyped."

A collector in Dubai, who prefers to be called Foundamatch Marvs, says the split between Ye and adidas is great for resellers because it will increase the price of their existing stock.

"I am going to keep my shoes for a while and sell when the price is right," he says.

Collector Foundamatch Marvs says he's going to hold on to his collection of Yeezys and sell them 'when the price is right'. Photo: Foundamatch Marvs
Collector Foundamatch Marvs says he's going to hold on to his collection of Yeezys and sell them 'when the price is right'. Photo: Foundamatch Marvs

Shoe collectors in the UAE and elsewhere prefer to keep a low profile as reselling for profit is frowned upon by retailers, although it is now a multi-million dollar industry globally.

Ridwane Ettoubi, the co-founder and chief executive of Presentedby, the luxury sneaker consignment brand, predicts it will take about 12 to 18 months for the prices of Yeezys to "substantially increase".

Presentedby sells a range of highly coveted, luxury and limited-edition shoes and streetwear at its stores in Dubai, Doha and Riyadh, as well as London and Paris.

Yeezys displayed at the Presentedby store in The Dubai Mall. Photo: Presentedby
Yeezys displayed at the Presentedby store in The Dubai Mall. Photo: Presentedby

How exactly the divide between adidas and Ye will affect the intellectual property rights of the Yeezy brand remains to be seen, however. While Ye’s company, Mascotte Holdings Inc, holds a portfolio of more than 160 trademarked applications and registrations for his Yeezy brand, adidas owns the rights to the designs of most Yeezy shoes, including the well-known Yeezy Boost 350, according to Bloomberg.

Adidas said it would end production of Yeezy-branded products and stop all payments to Ye immediately, a move that would cost adidas a loss of approximately $247 million in net income. The Yeezy collaboration is responsible for as much as 8 per cent of adidas's revenue.

One shoe industry insider who did not wish to be named, tells The National that a market without Yeezys will cause "a huge shift in sneaker culture".

"Because Kanye West products were really the starting point of the whole reselling culture, the reselling industry could also die," he says. "Nike is flooding the market with greater allocations of stock of Jordan 1s and Dunks due to the closure of Russian stores and the China restrictions caused by Covid-19."

For now, the insider says, it's best for collectors to hold on to their stocks.

"We don’t know if Yeezys will gain value or completely disintegrate, but it's worth the risk," he says.

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The biog

Simon Nadim has completed 7,000 dives. 

The hardest dive in the UAE is the German U-boat 110m down off the Fujairah coast. 

As a child, he loved the documentaries of Jacques Cousteau

He also led a team that discovered the long-lost portion of the Ines oil tanker. 

If you are interested in diving, he runs the XR Hub Dive Centre in Fujairah

 

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Mamo 

 Year it started: 2019 Founders: Imad Gharazeddine, Asim Janjua

 Based: Dubai, UAE

 Number of employees: 28

 Sector: Financial services

 Investment: $9.5m

 Funding stage: Pre-Series A Investors: Global Ventures, GFC, 4DX Ventures, AlRajhi Partners, Olive Tree Capital, and prominent Silicon Valley investors. 

 
Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

Volvo ES90 Specs

Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)

Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp

Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm

On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region

Price: Exact regional pricing TBA

Ferrari 12Cilindri specs

Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12

Power: 819hp

Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm

Price: From Dh1,700,000

Available: Now

FINAL LEADERBOARD

1. Jordan Spieth (USA) 65 69 65 69 - 12-under-par
2. Matt Kuchar (USA) 65 71 66 69 - 9-under
3. Li Haotong (CHN) 69 73 69 63 - 6-under
T4. Rory McIlroy (NIR) 71 68 69 67 - 5-under
T4. Rafael Cabrera-Bello (ESP) 67 73 67 68 - 5-under
T6. Marc Leishman (AUS) 69 76 66 65 - 4-under
T6. Matthew Southgate (ENG) 72 72 67 65 - 4-under
T6. Brooks Koepka (USA) 65 72 68 71 - 4-under
T6. Branden Grace (RSA) 70 74 62 70 - 4-under
T6. Alexander Noren (SWE)  68 72 69 67 - 4-under

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Libya's Gold

UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves. 

The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.

Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.

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Left Bank: Art, Passion and Rebirth of Paris 1940-1950

Agnes Poirer, Bloomsbury

MATCH INFO

Fixture: Thailand v UAE, Tuesday, 4pm (UAE)

TV: Abu Dhabi Sports

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills

Electoral College Victory

Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate. 

 

Popular Vote Tally

The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.

Company Profile

Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million

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The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre 6-cyl turbo

Power: 374hp at 5,500-6,500rpm

Torque: 500Nm from 1,900-5,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 8.5L/100km

Price: from Dh285,000

On sale: from January 2022 

RESULTS

Bantamweight

Victor Nunes (BRA) beat Siyovush Gulmamadov (TJK)

(Split decision)

Featherweight

Hussein Salim (IRQ) beat Shakhriyor Juraev (UZB)

(Round 1 submission, armbar)

Catchweight 80kg

Rashed Dawood (UAE) beat Otabek Kadirov (UZB)

(Round-1 submission, rear naked choke)

Lightweight

Ho Taek-oh (KOR) beat Ronald Girones (CUB)

(Round 3 submission, triangle choke)

Lightweight

Arthur Zaynukov (RUS) beat Damien Lapilus (FRA)

(Unanimous points)

Bantamweight

Vinicius de Oliveira (BRA) beat Furkatbek Yokubov (RUS)

(Round 1 TKO)

Featherweight

Movlid Khaybulaev (RUS) v Zaka Fatullazade (AZE)

(Round 1 rear naked choke)

Flyweight

Shannon Ross (TUR) beat Donovon Freelow (USA)

(Unanimous decision)

Lightweight

Dan Collins (GBR) beat Mohammad Yahya (UAE)

(Round 2 submission D’arce choke)

Catchweight 73kg

Martun Mezhulmyan (ARM) beat Islam Mamedov (RUS)

(Round 3 submission, kneebar)

Bantamweight world title

Xavier Alaoui (MAR) beat Jaures Dea (CAM)

(Unanimous points 48-46, 49-45, 49-45)

Flyweight world title

Manon Fiorot (FRA) v Gabriela Campo (ARG)

(Round 1 RSC)

Tu%20Jhoothi%20Main%20Makkaar%20
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F1 The Movie

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

Her most famous song

Aghadan Alqak (Would I Ever Find You Again)?

Would I ever find you again
You, the heaven of my love, my yearning and madness;
You, the kiss to my soul, my cheer and
sadness?
Would your lights ever break the night of my eyes again?
Would I ever find you again?
This world is volume and you're the notion,
This world is night and you're the lifetime,
This world is eyes and you're the vision,
This world is sky and you're the moon time,
Have mercy on the heart that belongs to you.

Lyrics: Al Hadi Adam; Composer: Mohammed Abdel Wahab

House-hunting

Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove

  1. Edinburgh, Scotland 
  2. Westminster, London 
  3. Camden, London 
  4. Glasgow, Scotland 
  5. Islington, London 
  6. Kensington and Chelsea, London 
  7. Highlands, Scotland 
  8. Argyll and Bute, Scotland 
  9. Fife, Scotland 
  10. Tower Hamlets, London 

 

Drishyam 2

Directed by: Jeethu Joseph

Starring: Mohanlal, Meena, Ansiba, Murali Gopy

Rating: 4 stars

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Uefa Champions League play-off

First leg: Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Ajax v Dynamo Kiev

Second leg: Tuesday, August 28, 11pm (UAE)
Dynamo Kiev v Ajax

The%20specs
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Book%20Details
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Updated: October 27, 2022, 11:06 AM`