Dick’s Sporting Goods is one of the common go-to destinations for those in search of hunting gear. This will change in the near future as you will no longer find those hunting supplies at your local Dick’s.

Making the Changes

Last year, Dick’s Sporting Goods pulled all the hunting gear and firearms from 10 of their stores. This year, the company is removing all hunting gear and firearms from 125 of their 35 of Field & Stream and 850 Dick’s stores across the nation.

When pressed, CEO Ed Stack responded that these sections would be filled with ”merchandise categories that drive growth.”

Previous Changes to Gun Sales and Their Impact

Following the February 2018 shooting in Florida that left 17 people dead, including staff and students, Dick’s moved the minimum gun purchase age to 21 and restricted sales of AR-15 type rifles.

Initially, Stack thought this would bring new clients, but the decision brought on a decline in their hunting demographic. For the next three months, declines of 3.7 percent in sales for some stores and an overall drop of 6.5 percent with a loss of $2.5 billion. Analysts suspected the drop brought Dick’s Sporting Goods down to about $1.22 a share.

The Move Comes With Controversy

Gun owners turned from the retailer when they decided to pull “assault rifles” after the Parkland shooting. Some considered the company’s decision to send funding to Washington’s gun control lobbying efforts as an added insult.

The idea that Dick’s Sporting Goods would continue to be a field and stream store without the necessary tools for hunting made many advocates turn their back on the store. There is little doubt the decision to remove firearms from many of their stores negatively impacted their business model.

The various moves that Dick’s Sporting Good’s stores have made in recent years have made it clear they have political objectives. They are also far from the only retailer to make changes to gun sales following recent shootings.

Source:

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/08/22/business/dicks-sporting-goods-gun-sales/index.html

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