We’ll do our best to contain our glee, but we have German blood in our veins and schadenfreude is very a real thing. We apologize in advance.

All of that said, Dicks Sporting Goods today reported a larger-than-expected drop in same store sales and their stock has taken a dive as a result. What’s more, analysts are blaming their post-Parkland Bloomberg-approved gun sales polices for a big part of the drop.

As reuters.com reports . . .

Shares in the company fell as much as 10 percent after it posted a 1.9 percent drop in same-store sales, bigger than analysts’ average estimate of a 0.62 percent dip.

Dick’s was one of the first retailers to stop selling assault rifles and high-capacity magazines as well as bar the sale of guns to people under age 21 following a massacre at a Florida high school in February.

The company had predicted that its hunting guns business would be pressurized by the change in policy but said the move should also attract more people to its stores.

Dick’s said on Wednesday it expected annual same-store sales to decline by 3 percent to 4 percent, compared with a 0.3 percent decline in 2017.

Dick’s and their boosters in the media touted the fact that the chain’s sales were up initially following the announcement of their new anti-gun polices and CEO Edward Stack’s cash support for gun control lobbyists in Washington. Stack and his new “socially responsible” management style were hailed by civilian disarmament organizations. Everything was going to be just fine.

But now the worm has turned and the full-on effects of the retail chain forsaking a significant portion of its customer base seem to be having the result many predicted.

Dick’s is also blaming the downturn in part on a nosedive in sales of Under Armour gear, a brand Dick’s had counted on to make up for a big chunk of their lost gun and ammo business.

Much like Dick’s, though, Under Armour hasn’t exactly endeared itself to the hunting gear-buying public in recent years.

Chief Executive Officer Edward Stack said Under Armour sales fell as a result of the sports apparel maker’s decision to expand distribution to a broader range of stores.

Shares in Under Armour Inc (UAA.N), for whom Dick’s 700 stores have played a major role in efforts to challenge Adidas (ADSGn.DE) and Nike (NKE.N), fell 6 percent to $19.66.

Parkland happened in February and hunting season is now just weeks away. These results could be the first tangible effects of hunters and other gun buyers deciding to take their business to other, more gun-friendly big box retailers such as Cabela’s, Bass Pro, and Academy.

It appears many of Dick’s customers have decided there’s no reason to give their hard-earned money to a retailer that has openly and actively worked to restrict their right to keep and bear arms.

 

 

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

99 COMMENTS

      • It’s further worth noting that in a Trump economy that is growing so flippin explosively that the Failing Target Stores chain (home of “hmm, what’ll my child see in the bathroom?”) instead of losing more of their entire butts, posted their biggest gains Ever at +40%, and their not-exactly-conservative CEO lauded Trump Directly, .. it is in THAT drunken-sailor consumer spending environment that the marketing and public-relations visionaries at Dick’s have Nonetheless managed to post Missed-Figures and Palpable Concerning Losses.

        Their problems are —Much— larger even than they appear.

        Great job. You weren’t loved. You won’t be missed.

    • when you limit gun sales…you also lose your base of sales of gun related items…got one of their stores down the road…never been in it…word of mouth was bad in regard to their prices…found dunham’s to be a better choice…although they don’t seem to have any more “specials” on surplus guns…rural king isn’t bad either…very gun-friendly

  2. Couldn’t happen to a nicer chain. Shopping at dicks is an exercise in self torture. Pay top price while getting treated like shit by the help. And the return policy…..

    • I only found one employee that was worth a $h!t at Dick’s and he was the OWG in the firearms department. The rest of the millenials couldn’t count without using their fingers.

  3. I consider this a scorched earth policy on the part of Dick’s. They could rescind this policy and immediately begin selling nothing but AR-15’s, and I’ll still never, ever set foot in a Dick’s store ever again.

    Hope the hit to your bottom line was worth it, you putrid, virtue signalling idiots.

    • They could reverse course and sell nothing but MSR’s and accessories and the sales would continue to plummet. Piss off the base of customers who probably bought more firearms and related merchandise dollar wise than all the libs combined and kiss your business bye-bye. Other leftist owned businesses like Amazon sell all the other stuff Dicks does probably for less and delivers it to your door.

      • I was recently made aware of the “Smile” program Amazon offers. Google it up. One may designate a percent of their purchases be forwarded to a charity of their choice. The NRA is such a charity. I contribute to the NRA Civil Rights Defense Fund. Even if you don’t like Bezo’s liberal politics, you may take some pleasure in knowing every purchase you make helps a selected pro gun charity. There are numerous POTG charities listed.

        NRA Civil Rights Defense Fund Change
        Location: Fairfax, VA | Year Founded: 1978
        Mission: The NRA Board of Directors established the NRA Civil Rights Defense Fund in 1978 to become involved in court cases establishing legal precedents in favor of gun owners. To accomplish this, the Fund provides legal and financial assistance to selected individuals and organizations defending the right to keep and bear arms. In addition, the Fund sponsors legal research and education on a wide variety of firearms related issues, including the meaning of the Second Amendment and nature of the right to keep and bear arms.
        Programs: Legal research and eduction, Legal assistance

        • This. There are a bunch. Second Amendment Foundation, Gun Owners Foundation, etc. Amazon still offers plenty of firearm supplies and accessories, but they’ve cut them back quite a bit in recent years. I’ve been using Smile because of this for about a year. It adds up slowly, but it makes me happy to take a tiny bit and have them give it to that which they obviously don’t want to support.

    • You know, we all really should visit Dicks. We should take up their employees time, flush their toilets, use their air-conditioning, and anything else that potentially costs them money. Then tell them that we don’t buy things from an anti-2A company. Rinse and repeat!

  5. I said here on TTAG and other places at the time of Dick’s decision, that the filthy Liberal Terrorists™️ would initially support Dick’s by shopping at their stores. I’m sure they sold plenty of badminton supplies and ladies sports panties to these leftist men. I also said it wouldn’t take long for this virtue signaling to stop as the feral leftists would be soon distracted to another “cause of the day”. Apparently the time for Dicks to reap what they’ve sown has arrived. I won’t be satisfied until the company is plunged into bankruptcy, the investors who supported this corporate terrorism lose their entire investment and that Dick himself loses his personal fortune and is driven to suicide.

  6. It’s not that they stopped selling MSR’s and standard capacity magazines, it’s the way they went about it. They went into full virtue signaling SJW gun control mode. They were on the leading edge of corporate gun control.

    I hope they go out of business…Dicks.

    • Precisely.
      They didn’t need to put out a loud and proud press release on this decision- they wanted to. They thought that by being so public with this bad idea (especially the idiotic decision to destroy their current inventory of MSRs) would endear them to people who were not, as a whole, reliable customers to begin with.
      If they had simply made the changes quietly and not made a big deal of it, most folks (who are not POTG)would not only have not heard of the change but wouldn’t have cared.
      But appeasing the bigots was the whole point to begin with. Makes me wonder who it was from the bigot orgs that walked into Dick’s office and told him, “do this, very loudly, or else”.
      🤠

      • Forget the press release, dick stack went on ABC’s morning show and gave an obnoxious SJW interview to clinton admin alum george stephanopolous

        stack is a really smudge obnoxious person, someone who definitely doesn’t help the image of dicks

      • Not to mention hiring a lobbyist to push for more federal gun restrictions.

        I wonder if the Hogg kids went to Dick’s to buy supplies for their S&W march.

  7. But… what happened to all those anti-gun peepul who InstaFaceTweeted they would proudly patronize Dick’s to reward their stance?

    Oh, that’s right. They don’t do sports.

  8. Anti gun people arent outdoor people! They arent gonna buy crap. All they do is scream. If you capitulate all you’ve shown is your foolishness in believing anything SJWs and Statists have to say. Dicks is an example to hold on high. People of the Gun have buying power, guns and accessories are expensive not to mention ammunition. We vote with all three boxes.

      • Everyone wants to look like a hunter/lumberjack/cowboy, even if they live in a Starbucks on a college campus.

        • I bet a lot more real outdoorsmen shop at Wal-Mart or Tractor Supply Co. or similar stores than shop at REI, Gander Mountain, and Dick’s combined. The dudes who buy $150 tiny collapsable backpack stoves that can’t cook shit except heat water for vegan freeze dried dinners and $200 “technical” mountain jackets probably spend less time actually outside than the dudes wearing carharts or hunting camo..

        • There is no more Gander Mountain. Bankrupt. The remains were bought by Camping World.

          The store in my area has reopened as Gander Outdoors. I’m impressed. The old GM was pretty much a Dickless copy. Limited stock, overpriced, poor help, tons of clothing. The interior of the GO store has been redone. LOTS of firearms, ammo and accessories at competitive prices. Some very competitive. Nice camping equipment area. Good bike area. And limited about of clothing (this is the litmus test) Did have some cool 2nd tee shirts that were low on stock.

          I think I have to move it near the top of the list for my area. If Cabelas would get rid of the BS overprice clothing.

  9. I have a suggestion for those Dick’s. Every person comes in on their 18th birthday gets a free AR-15, or prepare for going out of business, it ain’t gonna get better.

  10. Stack sucks Dick’s sucks. Never liked the way they treat customers , the staff are like an infection. Nuf said.

  11. Get woke, go broke.

    If you are in a position to do so, purge all social justice types from your organization. Your co workers, shareholders, and bottom line will all be thankful you did.

    • Those socially woke companies will ask the big bad government to bail them out. While their supporters protest evil capitalism.

      • I seriously doubt there will be a bailout request for a company whose profits are up, income is up, sales are up and who stock is up 30% over last year.

    • The Board of Directors needs to Fire any senior executive that is not looking out for the well-being of the company and/or stock-holders.

      As for the rest, they need to Fire anyone that is doing anything political within the company. Dick’s is in retail, the focus of all employees and management in retail must be retail. This goes for every retailer, and any other business as well.

      I like what the stock ‘cato’ did, some social justice activist investment firm threatened the company over bathrooms and wanting a decision from the stockholders on their annual proxy, being as they are based in Charlotte no doubt. The company responded saying that they are in compliance with the SEC and EEOC and have general discrimination policies in effect and have for decades. End of story.

      That’s it, let the customers/businesses determine if they want to do business with any firm.

      If a firm wants to get political (and that isn’t what their main product is) they should pay the price when a segment of their customers stops using them.

      My problem is memories are short.

  12. Think it’s bad now? Wait til Black Friday and the Christmas buying season. Should be a hoot!

  15. Typical dimwit democrat mentality,. A sporting goods store that refuses to sell sporting goods. Just simply liberal moronic thinking.

  16. There’s no cause for joy over Dick’s.
    Although their quarterly same store sales are down, the company’s net income and net sales are both up. Compared to this time last year, their stock price is WAY up. It closed at $36.39 yesterday, up almost $10 per share over the same day last year, at $26.96.
    The company has raised, not lowered their annual sales projections for this year, and analysts believe they will hit them.
    Any corporate CEO that raises a company’s share price by a third and increases net income by 6% and sales overall is going to get a heck of a bonus.

    • Dick’s is in the midst of a transition from low to high margin inventory. Hunting, historically low-margin, will be the first to be eliminated completely. The problem is that Amazon is turning everything into low margin, and Dick’s can’t compete.

      The Company raised its annual sales projections, but it won’t hit them just like it failed to hit its same-store sales projections. Sales are up because Dick’s keeps opening new stores. Like a Ponzi scheme, that can’t go on forever.

      But none of this has much to do with guns. Brick and mortar retail is struggling in the face of online competition. That’s why malls are shuttering all over the country. They won’t all die out, but a lot will.

      Dick’s is the last of the national brick and mortar sporting goods stores. Cabelas and Bass Pro are not true sporting goods stores. If they were, people could buy basketballs, bicycles and baseball bats at Cabelas and Bass Pro. Because Bass Pro has a more limited menu, it can be more responsive to changing market conditions. Presently, Dick’s can’t.

      • Sucks to be a big box retailer I guess. Gotta love Amazon. I buy a lot of stuff from them. I have two orders in the last few days. One is the beater bar on my Vacuum cleaner and belt. Nobody had the belt and one place had the bar at $39.00 Amazon will ship it to my door in a couple days for $13.00 and it’s the same thing!! It would be nice to call around and find some place that had it, but I got other things to do that’s funner than sitting on hold wasting my time trying to get hold of an “associate” at some store who doesn’t have a clue what they have in stock. A person wastes too much time and resources on the phone and driving around trying to find over priced products. It’s nice to support your local business’ but I’m not sacrificing my sanity and money to do it.

        • NO screw Amazon and their chicom knockoff crap. Run by a bunch of leftwing progs (as most of the “tech” internet world) who don’t even understand what an operating profit IS. They can only “give away” (even chicom shit) while the “smart people” keep shoveling fresh capital in the door. You CAN NOT sustain a business by loosing $ on each order and making it up on volume. UPS/FEDEX MIGHT be making $ shipping Amazon’s crap but know one else is. AND destroying main street even more than Walmart.

          Jeff Bozos is even a bigger con/Ponzi crook that Musk.

        • Amazon sold me counterfeit noise cancelling ear muffs. Let me keep the piece of shit and gave me a credit for what I paid but didn’t bother to notify the customers what had happened til after duck season. I thought my shotty felt louder but it never crossed my mind to check the battery spring to see if they were the real deal or not. Screw amazon, it’s where people fence their bunk ass knockoffs.

      • Dick’s outdoors store Field and Stream isn’t doing well either by what I see here in North Texas.

      • You forgot about Academy sporting goods & outdoors. They seem to be going reasonably well, but they stay out of politics, have good selection of not just sporting equipment but also hunting, fishing, and camping gear. To boot, they have a respectable gun selection and a very good ammo selection at all their stores. Of course they are still feeling the squeeze like all brick and mortars are.

    • That was probably the deal that was made. Dick’s screws over their customer’s, but Bloomberg buys enough stock to make the CEO a nice little bonus. What does he care about the stockholders or customers? He gets his golden parachute no matter what.
      But its a dangerous strategy for the corporation. Whatever bloomberg can buy, he can sell. I wouldn’t want any ‘friend’ like that in my corner.
      OFC, again, what does the CEO care? So long as he gets his, what does he care what happens to the customers, any stockholders that aren’t bloomberg, the employees, and all the rest?

  17. The Dicks by me used to have a constant traffic, especially in the Hunting and Fishing department. Its become a ghost town. I used to buy a lot of supplies there. Now the LGS gets my business.

  20. I wont do my best to contain my glee,for the day is coming for the pickheads at Dicks when they shutter their doors,then I’ll pull a cork and toast to the demise they brought to themselves.

  21. Why haven’t companies figured out virtue signaling doesn’t work? The unemployed basement dwelling mental patients who so loudly demand these concessions are not, never have been and never will be your customers.

  24. Ummm…they quit selling AR’s after Newtown. I’ve been in their crappy store mebbe 4 times. Never bought anything. Had to hunt for some doofus to come to the “gun” department. Dick’s sux…

  25. I stood in a Dick’s store and made my wife order online from another retailer. (Compression volleyball shorts) My kids still need equipment, so we try in on at Dicks and then buy online.
    Stay strong POTG!

  26. To the original announcement of Dick’s blunder on this forum, commentators who termed their visits to Dick’s via a “boycott” and terming their Dick’s Rewards program participation were told that doing so would have little or no impact. Adding letters and emails to Dick’s Customer Service didn’t change the corporate stance but at least may bring into focus the stupidity of their decision! Perhaps the naysayers were wrong. Not all 2A supporters have short memories 👍.

  27. I personally place great value on professional, knowledgeable and courteous service when I shop in a store. I am willing to pay a little more for that and I do like supporting local mom and pop operations. I am not unreasonable when shopping but when I cannot get proper service at a retail outlet I just leave. They rarely get a second chance.

    As others have said, I don’t like wasting time and paying double for something that I can buy from my home computer and have at my door within a day or two for less money and aggravation.

    My only wish for Dick’s is they as a business get what they truly deserve; to be out of business. When you intentionally diss a large percentage of your customers in such a harsh way, you deserve to be out of business. Business owners/CEO’s should remember why they opened their doors in the first place; to serve their customers and offer the best selection of quality merchandise at a fair price. You do those things and the dollars will take care of themselves.

    • “I personally place great value on professional, knowledgeable and courteous service when I shop in a store. I am willing to pay a little more for that”

      The definition of “a little more” will vary from person to person. But it seems clear that most people will not spend a little more, because it all adds up to a lot more over time.

      • I think if I were to ever hear of someone saying they’d be willing to pay “their fair share” of a little more I’d puke. I’m so sick and tired of hearing that “fair share” line. Just sayin’.

  28. they just opened one in NLR, AR not too long ago. hope it shuts down. never stepped foot in it, and no real reason to. Fort Thompson is all i need.

  29. Hate to ruin the fun, but I just looked at their stock, and it is up 10% since they started virtue signalling.

    • The entire stock market is hitting record closes and has been doing that a lot over the past several years. We are in a major equities bullmarket. 10% in this market doesn’t mean much other than that Dick’s exists and lists its stock on an exchange.

      • A fancy way of saying the market is in a vast bubble of overhyped and overpriced stock. Totally unconnected from the actual value of the underlying company’s profitability (or even potential).

        The downside of the IRA/401K industry where “too much” money is chasing too little actual value.

  30. Have not stepped foot in a Dick’s store nor their sister company Field & Stream which I seldom see mentioned
    and it should because if anyone spends money at Field & Stream it goes into the owners of Dick’s pockets.

  34. As others have said, there was little reason to shop there even before Parkland and management’s “We’re good corporate citizens doing our part” move. Dicks and for most part their Field and Stream subsidiary had limited selection and sold at MSRP. I had little reason to shop at either based on price/selection though I do occasionally make purchases at their other subsidiary, Golf Galaxy.

    I wandered through the Field and Stream and it’s next door neighbor, Dick’s attached to a local mall on my way to buy some dress shirts. Mind you, it was a Thursday afternoon, but I had to wait in a short line to buy a shirt at Macys. There was no waiting for the sole cashier at Field and Stream and only one person for the sole cashier at Dick’s.

    I anticipate my next Field and Stream/Dick’s purchase to be the Timber Wolf full body mount at their going out of business sale.

  35. TTAG readers are just as gullible in believing what you read as the Antis. Dick’s stock closed at only ~2% down from yesterday. The stock price is up 14% since their virtue signaling started on May 3rd. Get your facts straight before an embarrassing post like this. A few dozen angry comments from TTAG readers is hardly proof that all potg have stopped shopping at Dick’s (I never shopped there in the first place). People that post on TTAG are an extremely tiny fraction of gun owners so our reach is much smaller than the loud voices in our bubble allow you to see. Sort of how Facebook pushes more liberal comments and posts in your newsfeed to make you feel like a minority. TTAG spreading false joy among the potg. TTAG is becoming masters of fake news.

    Am I the only one that does my own research before posting on here? Sheesh people.

    • Dicks is the last surviving category killer in national chain big box sporting. Of course their stock is up over the year, they completed several takeovers including the entire Sports Authority.

      But while Dicks gross sales and stock are up, they are below expectations of where they would be after killing and taking over virtually everyone else who competes on the same model.

      They are are not hurting, sports clothing for women involves massively higher markups than firearms, and sports clothing like footwear is also most insulated against sales losses to amazon. But long term they are going to get killed by Amazon eventually.

  37. Shopped at Dicks once…. and only once. Didn’t buy anything cause holy shit are they expensive. Stay in business or go bankrupt. Don’t care. I was never a customer and never will be.

  38. They turned their backs on us , therefore I will turn my back on them. It’s all good. Too bad since I have been a faithful customer for many years.

  41. Dick’s is a shiite-store. Their customer service sucks dick’s, their prices suck dick’s, and they are real dick’s.

  43. Fill up a shopping cart and leave it in the aisle after you remember that they stopped selling MSRs.

  44. They’re trying to be REI. There’s already an REI. Dicks isn’t going to win that fight.

    The nice thing about selling guns is that the internet can’t take it away from you the same way because people still get hit with a transfer fee by ordering online when they pick it up from an FFL. Pretty much everything else in that store can be bought for less from Amazon without leaving your chair.

  45. I go to Dick’s on Black Thursday to load up on my annual stock of shotgun shells, since they usually have a major loss leader for them in case lots. Otherwise I’ve never found them to be competitive, nor their staff to be any better than average (at best) when it comes to product knowledge.

    For everything else, I patronize my local female veteran owned gun store where they know their sh*t and stand behind their products.

    And it keeps my money at home.

  46. I still have never bought anything from Dicks. Even before they went anti 2A. I just never liked them.

  47. It’s not just guns and hunting apparel. My son needed new cleats for football season, and Dick’s gives coupons for purchases for the team. No matter, we drove an extra 30 minutes to get them from Academy, and got a better price too.

  48. I was a a 5 year employee of Dick’s, working in the Lodge department selling guns. Our store never sold AR-15’s, but that is beside the point. As a result of their anti-gun policies and destroying of those AR-15’s the company did have in stock, I quit . All they are doing is pandering to the liberals!

  49. Mr. Zimmerman, precisely what “assault rifle” was ever sold by Dick’s? I submit that you serve to aid and abet those very people/groups who wish to destroy our 2nd amendment rights by conforming to the flawed and misleading nomenclature propagated by the anti-gun industry. Neither an AR-15 or an AKM-47 is an assault rifle.

    • @Mike Hill, I think that term was used in the quote from Reuters.com, not in the commentary added by Mr. Zimmerman.

  52. Another fine example of “Get Woke, Go Broke”.

    SJWs just have no idea of how to run a business that deals with people outside of their own fanatical circle jerk.

  56. I happened to be in a dick’s store in the northern part of ILL this summer waiting for the store that I really wanted to go into but had not opened up yet. I stopped by the so Called “gun counter” and it was as empty as old mothers cubbord. I talked to the person that worked in that department and he told me that he was already looking for another job. There was not enough customer base to sell an over price golf club, an ocassional kayak or a can of sterno to. The store manager happened to come buy an overheard our conversation about the decision dick’s had made about weapon sales. She said that she was glad that dick’s management had decieded not to sell “automatic assult weapons”. I told her dick’s never sold automatic assult weapons. They were semi auto weapons. She then told me that that was not true and she was glad that dicks didn’t sell stuff like that anymore. I then informed her that she didn’t know her ass from a hole in the ground and if she was the store manager then it made perfect sense that someone of her mentality would be hired by dick’s since dick’s cooperate didn’t know there ass from a hole in the ground. When the store shuts down and your standing on the street corner wanting some change maybe if I’m in the area again I can put down my window and say I would love to give you some spare change but you don’t want it because I just left my bank and the cash I have is a rebate check for the browning firearms I purchased from one of the other stores that believes in my second amendment rights. Have a good day

  57. Right after Dicks changed their policy, my wife and I were at the local mall walking around. (They have a dicks there) I was wearing my “I am the NRA shirt” like I usually do when we go out. As we passed the entrance I walked as if I was going in, when I got to the threshold I did my best mime impression of an invisible wall with no way to get past the wall and into the store. After a couple of minutes I hung my head and walked away. I got a few laughs with that one from other shoppers but the employees didn’t seem to think it was funny.

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