HERZOGENAURACH (dpa-AFX) - Sporting goods manufacturer Adidas is facing an end to its collaboration with U.S. pop star Beyoncé. Several media in the U.S. and Germany had reported that the collaboration between the Franconian group and Beyoncé's fashion brand Ivy Park would not be continued by mutual agreement after the contract expires at the end of the year. An Adidas spokeswoman initially declined to comment on the matter.

Ivy Park's products are said not to have been accepted by customers to the extent Adidas had envisaged. According to the media reports, the Franconians had to put money on it every year.

For Adidas, it is already the second time within a short time that a cooperation with a great from the music industry has to be resolved. At the end of last year, the marriage of convenience with rapper Kanye West was on the rocks. However, this had no economic reasons - the product line was highly profitable. West had, however, put himself on the sidelines with anti-Semitic statements.

In principle, however, the new Group CEO Björn Gulden also stands by the presence of the Adidas brand in the entertainment industry. Gulden had also rated the broad positioning outside of sports as important./dm/DP/mis