Dick's Sporting Goods Sues Mitch Modell For Allegedly Impersonating Company Exec

Modell's Sporting Goods CEO MITCH MODELL has been sued by Dick’s Sporting Goods, "which charges that Modell impersonated a Dick’s exec earlier this month as he spied on a store" in Princeton, N.J., according to James Covert of the N.Y. POST. The suit alleges that Modell "claimed to be a Dick’s senior vice president as he persuaded employees to give him access to the backroom of the store and grilled them about the business." The suit also said that Modell "told store workers he was scheduled to meet with Dick’s CEO ED STACK at the store, and appeared to be particularly interested in a 'ship from store' program that delivers goods to customers’ homes from nearby locations" (N.Y. POST, 3/1). Univ. of Pittsburgh marketing and business administration professor JEFF INMAN said that it is "common for retailers to send employees into rival stores to compare prices." But Inman "never heard of an executive posing as an employee of a competitor to gain inside knowledge" (PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 3/1).