Dicks Ed Stack
Chairman and CEO of DICK’S Sporting Goods Edward W. Stack (Photo by Scott Dalton/Invision for DICK'S Sporting Goods/AP Images)
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Dick’s Sporting Goods has thrown in the towel on gun and ammo sales at another 440 of its stores. Because, for Dick’s CEO Ed Stack, losing $250 million in sales from implementing anti-gun measures simply wasn’t woke enough.

That’s right: At last March’s stockholder’s meeting, Stack claimed his company had lost $150 million as a result of their new restrictive gun sales policies.

Later in October 2019, that number had risen to $250 million according to Stack.

The chain implemented a number of restrictive anti-gun measures after the Parkland school shooting, unilaterally enacted age discrimination policies, refusing to sell firearms or ammo to customers under 21 even where legal.

Photo by Boch

Dick’s ended sales of “high capacity” magazines and America’s favorite rifle, the AR-15, along with other modern sporting rifles. Instead of returning those guns and magazines to manufacturers, the chain made a show of destroying $5 million in inventory in order to burnish their social justice credentials.

As a cherry on top, the company also hired a Washington lobbyist to push for federal gun control laws.

They then filled lots of newly-emptied, valuable display space in a curious fashion.

Photo by Boch
Photo by Boch

In Ed Stack’s mind, though, destroying perfectly good guns and magazines while losing a quarter billion in sales still isn’t sufficiently woke. The chain is now removing entire hunting departments at 440 stores.

From CNN (autoplay video at link):

New York (CNN Business) Dick’s Sporting Goods will stop selling guns at 440 additional stores this year, escalating the company’s methodical elimination of firearms from its stores.

The move follows a series of decisions at Dick’s to scale back gun sales. A few days after the Parkland, Florida, school shooting in February 2018, the company announced it would stop selling semi-automatic weapons like the one used in the event.

A few months later, Dick’s pulled firearms and hunting accessories from 10 stores as a test. That went well: Overall sales increased at those stores. The company then pulled guns and ammunition from 125 additional stores in March 2019.

Now Dick’s plans to nearly quadruple the number of stores without guns, the company announced during its fourth-quarter earnings report Tuesday.

Ed Stack seems hellbent on dragging down the Dick’s Sporting Goods chain in the name of conspicuous social justice posturing. Unfortunately, his 30,000 employees don’t have his financial resources. They will be the ones to feel the brunt of any lost jobs, lost wages, and lost health insurance that result from his moves to alienate his customers.

 

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96 COMMENTS

  1. Sure hope there’s a lot more “soccer and tennis moms” out there! Most smart businesses remember where they came from, can you say death throes?

    • Unfortunately, their profits are $2.6 billion in net sales, for the 4th quarter. Its stock jumped by 13% after the announcement. They don’t need us.
      Evidently, neither does Walmart.
      Our friends are the small businesses. They need us. We need them.

      • Dick’s will be fine. A sporting good store stocked with athletic gear and golf supplies won’t have a bit of trouble staying in business. No, I won’t shop there anymore, but as you said, they don’t need us.

        • I don’t need a jock strap, yoga pants, or a basketball, so I guess I’m OK without dicks.

        • Don’t have the store in my part of the world. Do they sell competitive athletics equipment? My son needs the next sized shot put after the orange 2 kg.

          My needs and my son’s may be too specialized for them.

      • Due to sagging business, Dick’s sold 4 stores in PA to Sportsman’s Warehouse, which sells plenty of gun stuff, including ARs. Guess they needed us more than people think.

        Prior to their idiocy I bought a ton of fishing and kayaking gear from Dick’s and Wal Mart. Dropped them both like a hot rock when they started their BS. All my in person fishing, kayaking, and gun business goes to Dunham’s, Bass Pro/Cabellas, and sometimes local gun, paddle, and bait shops.

      • Victoria Illinois,

        I believe there is another angle to this that people are missing. The source article above says that Dicks enjoyed an INCREASE in sales after they removed firearms from 10 test stores. While they obviously lost their typical firearm sales, they could very well have gained additional sales from whatever merchandise replaced the floor space that their firearms occupied.

        In fact a very reasonable interpretation of the source article is that Dicks saw more sales from their replacement merchandise than they would have enjoyed from firearms. And if you think about it, that could very well be true. Honestly, how many firearms would a given Dicks store sell in one month? Maybe 10 firearms at an average price of $600 or so? That is only $6,000 in sales (and probably a profit of $600?). On the other hand, how many other sports items would they have sold in a month, and at what profit level? I can see that easily being over $600 profit.

        • But that is comparing sales after gun owners had already deserted Dicks, driving down sales. What’s missing is a comparison with sales before the company drove off gun owners.

    • Apparently I’m not the only one in my area that thinks that way. The closest dicks to my home was shuttered the last time i drove by. It had only been there for a couple of years.

      Too bad. So sad.

    • Joe Biden wants to end online ammo purchases. It’s part of his official platform. Accessories would probably follow.

      • Illinois already jumped there with all ammunition deliveries to FFLs only. Currently your Illinois F.O.I.D card is needed for all inperson ammunition purchases. I suspect they will require a background check pretty soon.

    • I think you meant to say,
      Dick’s, where they no longer have balls!
      In our local Dick’s, their ammo has always been locked up in steel cages.
      They make shoppers looking for ammo feel like a teenage boy shopping in a drugstore that keeps the condoms and Penthouse magazines behind the counter with paper covers over the magazines.
      Also, if the one and only guy in the gun department is on break, you can’t buy any ammo because it’s locked in those cages.

      Compare this to WalMart and Cabelas in free states, where shoppers can just grab boxes of ammo and place them in their shopping cart like any other items for purchase.

      • If you think that’s bad, try buying ammo in California. Not only is it all locked up in cages, you have to pass a$1 mini-background check in order to buy any. And if you do not have a firearm registered with the State, or are from out of state,. it is a $19 background check with a 10 day wait. This session they are trying to ban any bullets except nonlead bullets. If it passes, there will be a period before the law goes into effect, long enough for everyone to use up or sell off their supplies, after which it will be illegal to shoot any led or lead core ammo anywhere in the state (except military bases).

  2. I can’t remember the last time I set foot in a Dick’s Sporting Goods. It has to be at least 2 years, I think.

    Dick’s just has nothing that I am interested in.

    • I used to buy arrows online from Dick’s and have them cut in-store. While I was in there I’d pick up other stuff, mostly hunting- or fishing-related or other outdoor products. Haven’t been in there since all this noise. Academy is right across the street from Dick’s, buy lots of ammo and hunting stuff there. Mostly Midway, Brownell’s, TargetSports, Lucky Gunner, Bud’s, Classic Firearms, etc. Whoever’s offering free shipping.

  3. i bought 2 things at dicks in the past 3 years:
    2 Mizuno Pro Limited outfield glove that had priced at 599/each, which range up 99.99/each. These things are beautiful. and 4 boxes of 9mm, which i needed in a pinch and stupidly bought and ate the $.05/round Illinois tax.
    That’s it. the store is overpriced and i can find the same or better online.
    Idiots…..

  4. There’s plenty of local gun shops that sell guns & mags… because they aren’t Dick’s.

    Hey Ed Stack: why don’t you go self-procreate with a cactus buddy.

  5. I avoid the dicks at Dick’s now unless I am desperate to find something for my son, like a pair of winter gloves that fit (2 years ago). No more gun, fishing or archery purchases from them for sure. If I go in there in the future it will only be to see what I like and then go order it from Amazon.

  6. It’s about power, not profit. Ed Stack would rather make it .0001٪ harder for John Q. Public to buy a gun than he would take home a few extra million. He has his “fcuk you” money already.

  7. The stuff they sell now can be bought at WalMart….cheaper. Soccer moms used to go there for kids’ stuff. If you’re any good at a sport, you don’t go there anyway.

  8. I celebrate the freedom. That Liberty gives people to destroy themselves. Destroy their own private property such as a business. Destroy their own private property such as rock and roll records. Something that many Christians were doing. Starting in the 1950s. I think they’re quite stupid. But they certainly have the freedom to do so. The problem with the business owner. Are all of his employees. Losing their jobs and everything that they have tied up in that company as an employee. But they made that choice to work at that business.

    A multi-millionaire owner of Dick’s Sporting Goods has every right. To figuratively “set his business on fire” and destroy it.

    He has every right to do so. Like the character in the novel The Fountainhead. Although the two are destroying their own private property for different reasons.

    At the end of the day the owner of Dick’s Sporting Goods will still be a multi-millionaire.

      • As an American Christian. I have the freedom to criticize other Christians. And I also have the freedom to criticize atheists or Jews or Muslims. Or toadstool worshipers. I can even criticize those that worship the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

        • You can criticize those of us who worship the Flying Spaghetti Monster, but, please do not criticize the Monster him/her self. We do not want our noodle deliveries interrupted because Flying Spaghetti Monster is upset.

          🙂

        • No seriously Chris T in KY, when was the last time you criticized Jews? And for what reason?

          You’re not responding to anything I’m saying. You either ignore what I say or respond ad hominem.

        • You are anything but a Christian the only place you are going after death is a very, very, very hot place.

        • Whoa down, now! Let’s leave the Flying Spaghetti Monster out of this, stick to insulting fictional gods.

          And, is that “hot place” the one where all the fun people are going to be? Sign me up!!

          AND!! Jews, as a race, do not own nearly enough guns.

        • I criticize jews all the time. I say “Honey, you are being unreasonable. Me getting another gun does not justify you getting another purse. You are already two purses ahead.”

          Sometimes I criticize the jew in my life for picking guns based on color or pretty patterns instead of important criteria like caliber and how cool they look and which action hero used them in which movie.

    • I’m surprised the so called Libertarians on TTAG have not pounced on you yet??? If this was me they’d be pounding away on their keyboards by now.
      I can take it. I have a very thick skin.
      (smile)

      • No you are litterally too dumb to understand anything that is being said to you. You get pointed out numerous times where you are wrong and instead of listening you continue with the same tired old lies. You are the very definition of troll in every litteral sense.

    • This.

      The Dicks in my area put the local gun shop out of business. Now there are no gun stores in my area.

      Thanks free market!

      Am I supposed to value guns or the free market more? Maybe those alt-right people are right.

      • I’m one of those crazy conservatives who believes my loyalty to a mom and pop business is better for my long term Liberty. Whenever possible. Not giving my money to a multinational corporation. Also having nation borders that are violently protected, if necessary. MAGA. The rest of the world can do as they please to themselves. Which means if they want to put each other into gas chambers that’s their fight. Not ours. If they want to shoot drug users on site. That’s their fight. Not ours.

      • Dick’s could not put the LGS out of business. You and all the other local gun owners did that by not shopping there. Don’t blame Dick’s, as bad as they are, for something you did.

  9. I am surprised he has not gotten voted out of his position as CEO for violating his fiduciary duty to the stockholders of Dick’s shares.

    • He is the primary stockholder in the company. So he can do as he pleases. However those with fewer stocks are not very smart still investing in that company.

      • Well, I guess that sucks for them. But according to libertarian philosophy. You have every right to destroy your own private property. The fact that you’re hurting other people in the process. Destroying their own money Investments doesn’t matter. Now go read The Fountainhead.

      • to Bad goy
        “This is a much bigger long term assault on “people of the gun” than background check law. And it boggles me that you, implicitly, support this because “muh private property”. This is your brain on Jews.”

        I’m not a gambler. That includes the stock market. I have friends who have had their life savings destroyed by what I call very evil people who run these investments.
        There is no “quick way to get a buck”. Some are lucky. Others are not. That “crazy long haired jew” named Jesus used a super sonic weapon to attack the money changers who defiled a religious temp. And many people to this day still hate him for doing so.

      • @chris T in KY

        How are you saving for retirement? If you have a pension, it’s being invested in the stock market. If you have a 401k, that’s the stock market. If you’re just living off social security, I don’t see how that jives with your LOLbertarian philosophy.

        Also- the same problem Jesus faced 2000 years ago is the same one we face today. Rabbinical Judaism is an entire religion centered around the rejection of Christ. Today, Christianity is under attack. The same people attacking guns are same ones that will fire you for quoting Romans 1:26-27. If you want Christianity to keep going with your children and grandchildren, you have to start defending it.

        Jesus is King!

      • Can we get a link to a video of jesus facing all these problems? If not, why not? And please remember, according to your own superstition, Jesus WAS a jew.

      • to DeShawn
        “Today, Christianity is under attack. The same people attacking guns are same ones that will fire you for quoting Romans 1:26-27.”

        Yes you are correct. The people who attack christians really don’t support the Bill Of Rights especially the 1st and 2nd amendments. That’s why I say the “bible belt” or “fly over country” is where civil rights are being protected. Not the west coast. Not the North east. When over 25,000 open carry gun owners showed up in Richmond Virginia. There is a reason why that protest didn’t happen on the west coast. And before you hit your keyboards, open carry is still legal in Washington State and Oregon. In California you could use a firearm cardboard cut with your political statement written on it.

        And if the police try and take your “political sign” shaped like a gun, sue them for violating your 1st amendment rights. Two can play at this game. It’s not illegal to walk around with an empty holster and wearing a pro 2A T-shirt. Anyone should be able to articulate why you are doing this. If you are asked questions.

        to Bad Goy
        “No seriously Chris T in KY, when was the last time you criticized Jews? And for what reason?”

        1. Have an have previously said jews are in the Leadership of the civilian disarmament complex on TTAG. And I said this back when TTAG was owned and operated by a jewish gun owner. And back then we had many posts about self hating jews or jews in name only who want our guns.

        2. I have said on TTAG that the first jew I heard who supported gun rights for blacks was Aaron Zelman founder of the JPFO back in 1994. He was the first person I heard say gun control was racist. And he backed it up with the history provided by Clayton E Creamer. I became a member of the JPFO that same year. Up to then I thought all jews were gun grabbers.

        3. I will criticize anyone who is a gun grabber. I don’t care WHO you have sex with. I don’t care WHAT you have sex with. You get no protection with a religion. You get no protection if your an athiest.

        Now did I leave anyone out???

    • Why would get voted out for a company who’s stock value increased under his watch? If his bonus is at all tied to stock price, he did very well.

  10. Becoming properly woke is a wonderful thing. The good Mr. Stack is apparently listening carefully to the Mom’s and PITA. I think he should extend his self-congratulatory “wokeness” to include environmental concerns. I mean do people really have to do all this camping and stuff when we should all be worried aout how our individual carbon footprints are effecting the world around us? Mr. Stack should begin rationing the camping supplies he sells so that he can encourage his customers to reduce their carbon footprints.

    • Haha yep. Too bad the people pushing it don’t even believe in it themselves. You can tell by their actions. It’s just another version of riling up the mob to gain control over your lives.

    • And golf courses are one of the largest users of water. Shouldn’t he stop selling golf equipment to protect our precious water supplies? Not to mention the habitat destruction involved in building golf courses.

  11. Guns were the only reason I ever went to Dick’s. They didnt carry my size in shoes or clothes. I bought 2 Remy 700 SPS carbines there a long time ago and still have them. Great shooting little rifles. I restocked them with B&C carbine stocks which are no long made and traded the gumby hogue stocks for primers at a pawn shop. Another retailer that I will never set foot in again. In the age of Amazon and everything else via the internet except for haircuts and mani/pedi’s, I dont see how they stay in business.

    • Reminds me, I bought one of those Remy gumby stocked 700s in 30-06 for my daughter several years ago. She’s killed several deer with it. Quite a shooter, as is. The gun and the girl.

  12. He helped create a self fulfilling scenario that justifies his actions… First have typically higher gun and ammo prices and mostly ignore popular self defense guns, don’t try to compete in that space. Then stop selling popular AR guns, promote gun control so gun people stop shopping there, then say “we aren’t going to sell gun and hunting gear anymore because it doesn’t sell very well for us.”

    Of course not, we don’t want to buy those remaining shooting items you reluctantly sold. Nor your arrows, balls, and clubs.

  13. Do not give these anti gun ratbassturds like dicks a dime.
    Gun Control? It’s roots are in racism and genocide. Look how these democRats want to storm the homes of gun owners like their KKK ancestors stormed the homes of Black Americans. Something about Black that brings out the lynch mob in democRats…ironic how the AR15 is Black.

  14. Do people not read financial data? Articles like this make it look like gun owners don’t understand the basics of corporate business.

    Dick’s most basic numbers, all very publicly available:

    Jan 2018 Stock Price $31.03 Revenue 287M Profit Margin 3.6%
    Jan 2019 Stock Price $33.18 Revenue 323M Profit Margin 3.7%
    Jan 2020 Stock Price $47.64 Revenue 319M Profit Margin 3.8%

    Dicks is doing just fine, and a lot better than many of their competitors.

  15. Went into one store in Utah to get a pair of shoes did not even have a shoehorn and the workers were stupid. One and only time in a store like this.

  16. “As a cherry on top, the company also hired a Washington lobbyist to push for federal gun control laws.”

    They aren’t just doing this for the good optics among the woke crowd. They’re doing this so that their competitors can’t pick up the business they’re leaving behind.

  17. I bought angling equipment from them for awhile several years ago, back when I lived closer to my preferred lakes and had more time. They often had good deals on the kinds of lures I used. But that was an earlier decade, and I’ve been in one of their stores only once since the AR fiasco, and that was to use a gift card given to me by a friend who didn’t know better. Used it to buy a collegiate hoodie on clearance for my daughter, at about a quarter on the dollar, and I was ok with that.

    Earlier comments mentioned mutual fund investing, in the context of funds that own shares in companies that we would otherwise shun. If the personal attacks can be set aside, that’s a discussion worth having. For the passive investor, or for those with limited options, I don’t think it’s even possible to weed out companies like this and still get a reasonable return. For the more active investor, the universe of investment options is expansive.

  18. Haven’t set foot in dicks since they went down their current path. If they swapped one type of customer for another and still make money good for them.
    They don’t make money from me.

  19. I wouldn’t step in Dicks Sporting Goods if they were giving out free coats and I were naked…I have no use for them.

    • I am sure they care, not. Let me guess you also don’t give a penny to Walmart, Amazon, Starbucks, Bank of America….and any other corporation not supporting the 2A? All of them are doing just fine, they don’t need you, but you need the product one way or another and at some point you will give business to one of these companies. There are gun owners who think they are smart because they buy their stuff on Amazon rather than Dick’s or Walmart, that’s hilarious as most of these companies don’t care about gun owners. Also, companies like Starbucks would lose more customers if they openly became pro guns and they know it.

      • I am guilty of giving business to some of these corporations, because sometimes there isn’t any affordable alternative or anything within reasonable distance. I sure can live without Starbucks, but without Walmart, Amazon, Target it gets harder. Not a lot of moms and pops stores either around here.

      • I actually don’t give any money to those companies. If you are buying something from Amazon, most likely yo can find the same item elsewhere online.

        No to Walmart since their CEO went all anti- 2a and asked Congress for gun restrictions. Starbucks sux so no loss there. B of A I never liked so that was easy.

  20. It’s not just guns. Dick’s is folding up their entire hunting sector. That include everything, EVERYTHING, from tree stands to scent remover.

    Welcome to our world, Fudds. Ed Stack hates you too.

  21. Used to shop there often, after they cowered the fist time, I never went back, never will. A smart business sells what the market demands. I hope their decision to sell jock straps and yoga pants causes the to go bankrupt. F them…un-American a holes.

  22. I don’t really care. I have never bought anything at Dick’s and never will. Let the stupid stockholders take the hit if they are stupid enough to hang on. I guess Dick’s is okay selling sweatshop clothing and shoes though. No problems there. Outta sight, outta mind is their motto.

  23. I go there all the time. I hit new clubs, tying up their range sometimes for hours, then buy the combo I like from online sellers or from from local fitters. I’ve done that for the last 16 years since they asked me to leave their simulator when I was there with a grand in cash to buy a set. The guy said “Can you guys step out? We have someone who actually wants to buy clubs.” Dicks.

  24. His store – his rules …….. My money – my choice ……….. We had a sporting goods store here oddly enough named Dick’s …. no fire arms so was no reason to go in …….. apparently too many others felt that way ……. we no longer have that store …….. lot was always empty …..
    The main problem is the intentional poke in the eye to half the population. We don’t forget. There are less offensive ways to stay ‘woke’ …… not a good business model……

  25. They will go the way of Sears, Penny’s, K marts and others that tried too appease women by doing away with men’s lines! put more clothes and women’s ware in place, I’m so enthused I can hardly spit!! Happy Belly up Dicks

  26. Never liked that store anyway. The employees never seemed to know much of anything about hunting or guns and the staff was never friendly or helpful. They never seemed to carry anything that was worth the price they liked to charges, so I went elsewhere. If they do better selling just sporting gear, then more power to them (note: that decision didn’t go well for Sports Authority, but that company’s demise was already foreseen when they made that non-political business move). However, Dick’s insistence on making this a social-justice thing is detestable. That may come around to bite them eventually in the pro-2A states or regions with more libertarian-like leanings, even with shoppers not interested all that much in guns. They want to shop, keep your politics to yourself.

    Otherwise, with Dick’s and Walmart taking such steps, the reduced competition is all good for the local gun dealers.

  27. Just today I learned that dicks was no longer selling guns and ammo…. also today I made my last visit to dicks…. maybe dicks can make a go of it with the “soy boys”….

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