After removing all assault rifles and initiating new gun sale policies at all 732 of its stores, Dick’s Sporting Goods is contemplating removing all hunting gear from its stores, company CEO Edward Stack said in a Nov. 28 conference call.
In a test run, the company removed all hunting products from 10 stores where hunting gear was underperforming and replaced it with assortments in categories such as baseball, licensed products and outerwear, according to the call.
“Though it’s too early to discuss performance, we’re optimistic these changes will better serve the athletes in these communities,” Stack said.
Dick’s Sporting Goods looking into removing all hunting gear from its stores
Never ever get your business involved in politics, but if you do that mistake, get it done and never make the mistake again. Dicks took one in the Bottom Line buttinsky by removing “assault weapons” from its stores and disposing of them rather than return them to the manufacturers and all done with much fanfare. It kept the other firearms and related products with them thinking they would continue to sell and do so very well because, weren’t them stupid gun owners still buying guns?
Dick’s found itself with a tone of money invested in products people would not buy. I guess nobody told them Gun Owners tend to be rather monolithic in their preferences and will not buy in locations where ANY gun is banned. I keep mentioning K-Mart’s decision no to sell any more ammunition after pressure by the Antis following Columbine’s and how it ended up tightening the noose around the company’s neck and its eventual bankruptcy. There is another sporting goods company I forget to mention and that is Sports Authority who also went politically correct at the time of Columbine, but they were either smart enough or lucky enough to simply do away with all firearms and related items. The took a hit, no doubt about it but they reconfigure the business more towards a personal fitness & gym-type of goods and eventually they recovered. The other thing they did after that was never to get involved in political crap and they are making a nice profit according to what I was able to find online.
So what Dick’s is doing is simply removing the inventory it is not moving. No idea if they will destroy it, donate it or return it yet and try to get a refund, but sure as heck at least it is occupying unnecessary space in their stores and warehouses. In the era of Amazon, brick and mortar operations need to squeeze the hell out of every penny till they get Old Abe to scream.
Politics are fleeting. What today makes you look like a hero, tomorrow brands you as a moron in the business world. Dear Dick’s: Tag, you are it.
Sports Authority went out of business, and Dick’s Sporting Goods bought their IP.
from Wikipedia:
“On March 2, 2016, Sports Authority filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, but the case was converted to Chapter 7 a few months later. On May 18, 2016, the company’s stores were sold to a group of liquidators and on May 25, CEO Michael Foss announced that all of the stores would close by the end of August 2016.[4][5] On June 30, 2016, Dick’s Sporting Goods won the auction for Sports Authority’s brand name and intellectual property.”
“On July 15, 2016, the online store closed operations, redirecting users to the Dick’s Sporting Goods website.[7] On July 21, 2016, the purchase of Sports Authority’s intellectual property by rival Dick’s Sporting Goods was approved.”
Make of that what you will.
It was bought for $1.4 billion in 2006 by Leonard Green & Partners. It was them who screwed up, not the original owners.
Expect the local Goodwill or TJ Maxx to have a large selection of unsold Underarmour camouflage gear soon depending on whether they go for a tax write-off or not. No idea what they will do with the guns and ammo and won’t be setting foot in the local Dick’s to find out.