TJ Maxx cuts Yeezy-branded merchandise amid Kanye West fallout
By Parija Kavilanz, CNN Business
The list of companies cutting ties with artist and designer Ye following a series of antisemitic remarks continues to grow, with TJ Maxx boycotting the apparel line, the retailer announced Wednesday.
The decision follows similar moves by Gap and Foot Locker to pull Yeezy merchandise from their stores. Gap said it had also shut down YeezyGap.com. Adidas on Tuesday ended its partnership with Ye, who legally changed his name from Kanye West.
“At TJX we do not tolerate discrimination, harassment, or hate of any kind. We have instructed our buying teams not to purchase this merchandise for sale in any of our stores globally,” the retailer said in a statement emailed to CNNBusiness Wednesday.
TJX Companies operates popular off-price retail chains TJ Maxx, Home Goods and Marshalls.
These chains have become increasingly popular in the current inflationary environment because they buy unwanted or surplus inventory from suppliers and retailers, including luxury brands such as Gucci, Chanel and Prada, and sell them for less.
With more retail chains announcing that they will no longer sell Yeezy-branded products, it’s likely to create a glut of those items — with no place to sell them.
The fallout has even touched the rarefied world of auction houses and private sales.
Auction house Christie’s, which was handling the private sale of a rare Nike Air Yeezy 1 prototype that West wore to the 2008 Grammy Awards, said it was no longer proceeding with it.
The sneaker last sold for $1.8 million in a private sale at Sotheby’s in 2021, according to a report.
“We are not selling any of this material nor do we have any plans to,” a Christie’s spokesperson said Wednesday.
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