Dick's Sporting Goods

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Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc.
Type	Public (NYSE: DKS)
Founded	1948
Headquarters	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Key people	Ed Stack, CEO Michael Hines, CFO William Colombo, COO William Newlin, CAO
Industry	Sporting Goods
Products	Apparel, sports equipment, shoes
Revenue	$ 2.52 billion USD
Employees	7,500
Website	www.DicksSportingGoods.com

Dick's Sporting Goods (NYSE: DKS) is the largest full-line sporting goods retailer in the world. It is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA and has locations in 35 states with 295 stores. Mainly an east-coast and mid-west retailer, it has recently expanded into Texas, Kansas, Missouri, Colorado, Utah, Nebraska, Nevada and Georgia with more stores to come.

[edit] History

Dick's was founded by its namesake Dick Stack when he was just 18 years old in 1948. Stack worked at an Army/Navy store in Binghamton, New York, when his idea of expanding its product line to include fishing supplies was mocked by the owner. Relating his disappointment to his family that night, his grandmother decided to give him her life's savings and instructed him to "follow his dreams" with it. Opening up the first Dick's as a "bait & tackle" fishing supply store that same year and expanding into general sports merchandise in the late 1950's.

In the early 1990s Dick's began chain operations, opening additional stores across Upstate New York,^[1] before moving its headquarters to Pittsburgh in 1994.^[2]

In 2004, the company acquired mid-west sporting goods retailer Galyan's 48 locations. In 2007 they acquired Golf Galaxy which operated 65 golf superstores.

Dick's Sporting Goods storefront

[edit] Today

Through its close to 300 locations and a growing internet order business, Dick's provides authentic full-line sporting goods with a broad assortment of brand name sporting goods equipment, apparel, and footwear in a specialty-store environment.

Dick's Sporting Goods' retail internet site is operated under a licensing agreement with GSI Commerce, which also operates the e-tailing site for Sports Authority.

The Lodge section of a modern Dick's Sporting Goods store.

Main competitors based in the United States include the for-profit national and regional stores Bass Pro Shops, Cabela's, Eastern Mountain Sports, Gander Mountain, Sierra Trading Post, Sport Chalet, and Sportman's Warehouse, as well as national sporting goods retailers such as Sports Authority, R.E.I., and Big 5 Sporting Goods, web retailers such as Moosejaw.com, Altrec.com and Backcountry.com, and a host of local independent retailers.

[edit] Trivia

Dick's Sporting Goods Store #1 in Binghamton, New York dates back to the company's pre-chain days and is a fraction of its modern-day stores' size.

• Dick's Sporting Goods was the featured company on the NBC reality show, The Apprentice. It was the first time in the show's history there was a mass firing after a task.
• Mad Money host James Cramer considers his recommendation to buy Dick's (one day before a 15% selloff in the stock due to a weak earnings report) among his worst recommendations ever.
• In 2006, Dick's Sporting Goods became the title sponsor to the Dick's Sporting Goods Open in Endicott, New York. This will be a stop on the Champions Tour in 2007.
• On November 8, 2006, Dick's Sporting Goods revealed a deal for the naming rights to the new stadium for the Colorado Rapids Major League Soccer club. The venue will be called Dick's Sporting Goods Park.
• On November 13, 2006, Dick's Sporting Goods acquired Golf Galaxy.
• Dick's usually have many areas to try out the products.(e.g...putting green and driving range in the Golf section)

[edit] References

1. ^ Niedt, Bob. "Wilmorite to boost CNY malls", Syracuse Herald-Journal, 1993-04-29. Retrieved on December 25, 2006.
2. ^ Lindeman, Teresa F. "Ed's way stacks up well for Dick's", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 2004-11-21. Retrieved on December 25, 2006.

[edit] External links

• Dick's Sporting Goods