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]
Acquisitions
Dick's acquired Galyan's in July 2004.[50] The company agreed to purchase Golf Galaxy for $225 million in November 2006.[50] Dick's confirmed plans to close Golf Galaxy's headquarters in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, in mid-2008.[51]
Dick's acquired Chick's Sporting Goods in November 2007 for $71 million. At the time, Chick's operated 15 specialty sporting goods stores in Southern California.[52][53] Dick's purchased the San Diego–based sports management technology company Affinity Sports for an undisclosed amount in mid-2016.[33]
