Dick's Sporting Goods

Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc. (stylized as DICK'S Sporting Goods) is an American chain of sporting goods stores founded in 1948 by Richard "Dick" Stack. It is the largest sporting goods retailer in the United States and is listed on the Fortune 500.[4]

Company overview

Dick's is the largest sporting goods retail company in the United States,[5] with over 800 stores as of 2023.[6][7] The public company is based in Findlay Township, Pennsylvania,[8] outside Pittsburgh, and has approximately 53,000 employees as of August 2023.[9] The company's subsidiaries include Golf Galaxy, Public Lands, and House of Sport.[10][11] In 2017, there were 690 Dick's stores and close to 100 Golf Galaxy locations.[12] The company acquired Affinity Sports, Blue Sombrero, and GameChanger.[13]

Edward W. Stack is the executive chairman.[14] Lauren Hobart is president and chief executive officer of the company[15] and Navdeep Gupta is chief financial officer, as of 2024.[3] Hobart succeeded Edward W. Stack as CEO on February 1, 2021, becoming the company's first female CEO.[16][17]

History

Richard "Dick" Stack started the company as a fishing tackle store in Binghamton, New York, in 1948.[18] He began with a $300 loan from his grandmother.[19][20]

Edward W. Stack and his siblings purchased Dick's from their father in the early 1980s,[21] when the company had two locations in Upstate New York.[22] Stack established a board of directors, opened additional stores, and relocated the company's headquarters to Pittsburgh in 1994.[23] He became chairman and chief executive officer following his father's retirement in 1984, and led the company during its initial public offering in 2002.[24]

Dick's operated primarily throughout the Eastern United States until 2009 and has since expanded across the country.[25] There are more than 800 Dick's stores in 47 states, as of 2023.[26] In 2012, the company opened three True Runner stores targeting runners in Boston, the St. Louis suburb Brentwood, and Pittsburgh's Shadyside neighborhood.[27][28] The stores closed in early 2017.[29]

Dick's launched the women's athleisure, fitness, and lifestyle store Chelsea Collective in 2015,[30] opening two stores in Pittsburgh and Tysons, Virginia,[31] in the Washington, D.C. metro area. The shops closed in 2017.[32] The company launched Dick's Team Sports HQ in early 2016, offering youth sports teams websites, uniforms, and sponsorship options.[33]

Dick's opened its first Field & Stream store in Cranberry Township, a suburb of Pittsburgh, in 2013.[34] Thirty-five Field & Stream stores were open across the country as of 2018.[35] In 2023, Dick's shuttered its Field & Stream brand by converting its remaining Field & Stream stores to its House of Sport concept or large format Dick's stores.[36]

After the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in February 2018, Dick's stopped selling assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and increased the minimum age for purchasing guns to 21.[7][11] Dick's-branded stores had suspended assault-style weapon sales following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012, but the guns were still available for purchase at Field & Stream locations.[37][38] Dick's has never carried bump stocks.[7]

The company operates five distribution centers[39] and the most recent, in Conklin in Southern Tier, New York opened in January 2018.[40] It was expanded to fulfill online sales a few months later.[41] In 2019, Dick's launched its private-label clothing line called DSG.[42] The company's other brands include the women's line Calia, and their menswear brand VRST.[43]

Dick's opened its first "House of Sport" concept stores in Victor, New York, and Knoxville, Tennessee, in 2021.[44] The stores are larger than Dick's flagship locations, sell higher-end gear and include features such as an outdoor turf field and track, climbing wall, batting cages, and a digital golf range.[45] Dick's also launched Public Lands in 2021, a chain of stores that focuses on outdoor recreation including camping, hiking, and biking.[46] In 2021, Dick's opened its first Public Lands store. Public Lands donates 1% of sales to the Dick's Sporting Goods Foundation's Public Lands Fund, which promotes conservation and outdoor activities.[47][48]

In 2022, Dick's Sporting Goods launched DSG Ventures, an investment fund worth $50 million.[49]

Partnerships and sponsorships

The company signed a 20-year naming rights agreement for Dick's Sporting Goods Park, a soccer-specific stadium for the Colorado Rapids team in Commerce City, Colorado, in 2006.[68] Dick's has sponsored the Pittsburgh Penguins and the team's home arena, PPG Paints Arena (formerly Consol Energy Center).[69] Sporting events sponsored by Dick's have included the Dick's Sporting Goods Open and the Pittsburgh Marathon.[70][71] Dick's began sponsoring ESPN's college football kickoff week in 2009.[72]

In 2015, the company sponsored Olympic and Paralympic athletes and hopefuls and became the "official sporting goods retailer" for Team USA for the 2016 Summer Olympics and Paralympics.[73] Dick's and Team USA established the Ambassador Program and Contender's Program in partnership with the United States Olympic Committee, employing Olympians and prospective Olympic athletes. Dick's employed approximately 200 Team USA athletes competing in 35 different Olympic and Paralympic sports as of March–July 2016.[74][75] The athletes worked in 89 stores in 32 states.[76]

Dick's partnered with Carrie Underwood in 2015 to launch Calia, a fitness lifestyle line.[77] In 2017, Dick's entered a multiyear partnership with the United States Youth Soccer Association to provide team management technology and sponsor the US Youth Soccer National Championships.[78][79]

Since September 2021, Dick's has been in a multiyear agreement to be the official retail partner of the WNBA.[80]

In 2021, Dick's collaborated with Nike and DeVonta Smith.[81][82] In 2023, the company worked with the Boston Athletic Association, making Dick's the official sponsor of all of the association's events, including the 2023 Boston Marathon and associated events.[83] They also became the official sporting-goods retailer of the NCAA.[84] That same year, Dick's subsidiary GameChanger signed a deal with Major League Baseball to promote youth sports.[85]

Dick's Sporting Goods Foundation

In 2014, the Dick's Sporting Goods Foundation committed up to $2 million annually to fund youth sports via its Sports Matter program.[86] The Sports Matter program was initiated in 2014 to provide grants, equipment, and sponsorships to underserved youth sports programs.[87][88] Since its inception, Sports Matter has pledged more than $100 million.[89]

In 2023, Dick's Sporting Goods launched the 'Sports Change Lives' campaign to encourage participation in sports. The campaign partnered with Nike, Inc., to feature athletes such as Mike Trout, A'ja Wilson, and Carmelo Anthony. Participating athletes each nominate a youth sports organization to receive a $75,000 grant.[90][91] As of 2023, Dick's Sporting Goods and its foundation has pledged $170 million USD for youth sports initiatives.[92]

See also

• Academy Sports + Outdoors
• Bass Pro Shops
• Cabela's
• Legendary Whitetails
• Scheels
• Sportsman's Warehouse
• List of Pennsylvania companies

External links