Mine quit carrying guns and ammo. They had some decent fishing tackle, but Cabela's is a better store. Posting for Dick's on a gun forum? I put them in the same bucket as Cheaper Than Dirt.
"Stack joined gun-reform group Everytown for Gun Safety, as part of its council of business leaders, and urged Congress to act on gun control. His stores, meanwhile, began systematically pulling all guns off their shelves. Today, just 13% of Dick’s stores sell firearms, and only those made specifically for hunting, and the company has drawn down its Field & Stream stores from 35 in 2018 to 21.
That was “a momentous time in our company’s history,” recalled Dick’s then-president and current CEO Lauren Hobart, speaking at
Fast Company’s Innovation Festival in October. But it certainly wasn’t easy. Major gun companies cut ties, and the NRA proclaimed that the retailer was “punishing law-abiding citizens.” Dick’s was also the subject of a sustained, if not broad, customer boycott. “People who are angry have a longer memory, perhaps, than people who are supportive,” said Hobart. The company estimates that its decision to stop selling automatic weapons cost it about $250 million in revenue.
But eventually, the move began to pay off. “I think they recognized that their core consumer was not a gun buyer, not a hunter,” says Matt Powell, senior analyst for the sports industry at NPD Group. Dick’s revenue rose nearly 10% in 2020; in the second quarter of 2021, sales were up 21% over the same quarter in 2020, and 45% over 2019. There are other reasons for that uptick, including a pandemic-related surge of interest in outdoor activities and smart investments in private-label brands—particularly for women. “You make a lower profit margin on guns,” notes Powell, “than you do on sneakers or baseball bats.”
Cabela’s: The retailer’s then CEO, Tommy Millner (who previously spent 15 years leading gunmaker Remington), reportedly said his company enjoyed such a rush of gun buyers after the Sandy Hook massacre that it “didn’t blink” about continuing to sell them. Cabela’s still sells semiautomatic and military-style rifles."
The Parkland shooting pushed the retailer to find its voice on social issues. It’s now opening a new chain called Public Lands dedicated to conservation.
www.fastcompany.com
