All-rounder
DICK’S Sporting Goods has knocked it out of the park with its latest quarterly earnings, setting records for sales and propelling the company’s shares up more than 15% on Thursday to reach a new all-time high.
The sports retailer — which originally started life as a fishing shop in 1948 — has grown to become a staple of American retail, counting more than 800 stores across the country at the end of last year, as sales nearly hit $13bn. Since its IPO in 2002, the company has grown at a rapid clip, becoming America’s go-to retailer for everyone investing in a new hobby, upgrading their gear, or making the annual pilgrimage to buy their kids ever-larger equipment.
The company’s model has been to try and be all things to all people, selling everything from golf gear to athleisure apparel and elite stationary bikes to sleeping bags at its sprawling locations. Although not quite in the same category as Zoom, DICK’S was also a pandemic darling for investors, with sales surging 28% in 2021 as demand for stuff-you-can-use-outside soared.
While 2023 brought the company back down to reality, with supply chain costs squeezing margins, it's since returned to meaningful sales growth (8% in its most recent quarter) — not something that many big-box physical retailers can say in the age of e-commerce. Some things people still prefer to physically try before they buy: sports equipment seems to be one of them.
