After ditching gun sales, Dick's removes hunting gear from its stores

[turbinetree]

The sporting goods giant continues to distance itself from an industry on the decline

DANIELLE MCLEAN

DEC 2, 2018, 10:37 AM

Dick’s Sporting Goods already has removed guns and ammunition from its stores, but now the retail giant is taking its split from the industry to another level and removing hunting gear from at least 10 of its stores.

Days after the school shooting in Parkland, Florida that killed 17 people, Dick’s Sporting Goods stopped selling assault-style weapons and high capacity magazines in their stores and raised the age to buy a gun to 21 years old.

Dick’s was among many companies that cut ties with the National Rifle Association and the gun and ammunition business following a national public pressure campaign that launched after ThinkProgress published a list of about two-dozen companies offering incentives or discounts to NRA members.

“When we saw what happened in Parkland, we were so disturbed and upset,” the company’s CEO Ed Stack told The New York Times at the time. “We love these kids and their rallying cry, ‘enough is enough.’ It got to us. We’re going to take a stand and step up and tell people our view and, hopefully, bring people along into the conversation.”

Almost two months later, Dick’s doubled down and announced they would destroy their existing inventory of guns and ammunition prompting the NRA to Tweet a link to a Bearing Arms magazine article that stated: “Dick’s Sporting Goods’ decision isn’t focusing on the actual problem. It’s almost like it wants to go out of business.”

https://thinkprogress.org/after-ditching-gun-sales-dicks-removes-hunting-gear-from-its-stores-f8b58cc5c668/

[Hoyt]

1. Dick's deserves accolades for this!

[Wellstone ruled]

2. Sure wonderful of Dick's to get back to basics.

Sporting Goods not Hunting Goods.

[RockRaven]

3. At first I had thought it was going to be a temporary PR gambit... but it seems they're genuine.

Good for them.

[Kaleva]

16. Not really. They profit from the sale of guns via their subsidiary.

[RockRaven]

22. Welp. Of course I should not give up my cynicism...

what was I thinking?

[Marie Marie]

4. Wow - count me impressed.

[Duppers]

5. Excellent!

[SergeStorms]

6. "It's almost like it (Dick's) wants to go out of business."

I'd dare say the sale of rifles, shotguns, and all the accoutrements of hunting make up a small part of Dick's sales. Dick's Sporting Goods stores are mostly located in urban areas where "hunting" isn't popular. I think most hunters and fishermen would go to Cabela's, Outdoor World, Turners, especially Walmart, and the almost unlimited number of Mom and Pop stores that cater to that sort. This jackass that thinks Dick's is going to go bankrupt for not selling camouflage hunting underwear to "sportsmen" who love to get their kill on is sorely mistaken. The goodwill they'll gain supporting the Parkland kids and reining in the NRA - even if it is only symbolic - will more than make up for their lost hunting paraphernalia sales, IMO.

Good on 'ya Dicks!

[Raine]

7. Hunting isn't a sport

shouldn't be in a sporting goods store, good for them getting rid of it!

[Deb]

8. They own Field and Stream stores

I believe the company is still profiting from gun sales. There is a Dicks/Field and Stream store in a PA strip mall. Mom buys basketball sneakers for the kiddies in the "sporting side" while Dad walks over to "hunting side" of the store for guns, deer slugs and night vision binoculars. No wall separates the two stores.

[wishstar]

10. You are right, Dick's is playing the public with this public relation ploy

They have merely shifted their focus taking away the guns and hunting from Dick's Sporting Goods while promoting guns and hunting at their Field and Stream stores. I found that out when I went to a new Field and Stream store with someone who bought a camping item and the clerk asked for their Dick's store card. The Field and Stream store was creepy and off-putting with their over the top macho/camo/ atmosphere obviously catering bigtime to the guns and hunting afficionados even having large animal trophy exhibits on display.

[Captain Stern]

11. Exactly. It's a difference that makes no difference.

Here, the two stores are right next to each other. From the outside they look like two separate places. However, once you're inside, you realize that it's just one big store. There's only one set of cash registers.

All of the hunting stuff is over on the Field & Stream side...so technically, Dick's Sporting Goods doesn't sell hunting stuff.

Their 'announcement' is just a PR stunt to take advantage of something they were going to do anyway, regardless of anyone's feelings about guns.

[Kaleva]

20. CEO of Dick's Sporting Goods is shedding crocodile tears while profiting from selling guns

[Dorian Gray]

9. Wow

Good for them! I have a lot of respect for this decision.

[oberliner]

12. They removed the gear from 10 stores

Out of over 800.

[dembotoz]

13. Perhaps a test to see if it damages the company

What can they do without stockholders...if public...call for their removal

[oberliner]

14. That sounds right

It will be interesting to see if they make the decision across all stores.

[Kaleva]

15. Despite the claim, Dick's Sporting Goods continues to sell guns, ammo and hunting gear.

From the article:

"
“When we saw what happened in Parkland, we were so disturbed and upset,” the company’s CEO Ed Stack told The New York Times at the time. “We love these kids and their rallying cry, ‘enough is enough.’ It got to us. We’re going to take a stand and step up and tell people our view and, hopefully, bring people along into the conversation.” "

https://thinkprogress.org/after-ditching-gun-sales-dicks-removes-hunting-gear-from-its-stores-f8b58cc5c668/

However, Dick's Sporting Goods continues to sell guns, ammo and hunting gear through it's wholly owned subsidiary Field and Stream.

"Field & Stream is a retailer of hunting, fishing, camping, and related outdoor recreation merchandise that is a subsidiary of Dick's Sporting Goods. Despite its name, the retailer has no association with Field & Stream magazine, the seminal outdoor publication, founded in 1895. The company's logo date of "1871" references the origination of Gordon & Ferguson Merchandising Company, who sold clothing under the brand "Field and Stream" starting in 1915. Dick's purchased licensing rights to the name from Gordon and Ferguson's successors in 2012."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_%26_Stream_(retailer)

"Dick's opened its first Field & Stream store in Cranberry Township, a suburb of Pittsburgh, in 2013.[28] Thirty-five Field & Stream stores are open across the country, as of 2018.[29] Jason Aldean became the Field & Stream brand's first spokesperson in August 2016."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick%27s_Sporting_Goods

A sample of guns that Dick's Sporting Goods sells via its subsidiary:

https://www.fieldandstreamshop.com/f/handguns#orderBy:8

[allgood33]

18. Then they need to be called out about this. A little publicity about it will go a long way.

Every hunter in this country probably has at least 2-3 hunting guns.

[sl8]

19. They're currently having their "Guns & Ammo Cyber Week Sale 2018"

That was the first (sponsored) hit I got in my Google search for the news release.

[sl8]

17. They say they''re going to concentrate on higher margin items.

From https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dicks-sporting-goods-mulls-ridding-hunting-supplies-from-all-732-stores/

...

Hunting supplies and electronics are being swapped out for higher-margin products geared at athletes and sports teams, including outerwear in colder parts of the country and baseball and soccer equipment, Stack said.

"As the football business has declined, baseball and soccer have picked up," he noted.

The Pennsylvania-based retailer earlier reported a third-quarter net sales decline to $1.86 billion from $1.94 billion in the year-earlier period, with adjusted same-store sales down 3.9 percent.

"Sales continue to be negatively impacted by double-digit declines in hunt and electronics," CFO Lee Belitsky said. "Specific to hunt, in addition to the strategic decisions we made regarding firearms earlier this year, the broader industry has decelerated and remains weak, as evidenced by most recent background-check data" for firearms purchases.
...

[ProfessorGAC]

21. NRA: "It's almost like it wants to go out of business."

Says the organization in dire financial straits.

Perhaps they are not the people to be giving business advice.

[tman]

23. Wait, what's wrong with hunting gear?