Dick's Sporting Goods Chair & CEO Ed Stack yesterday said that the company "will make an 'aggressive' push into markets where Sports Authority is planning to jettison stores after filing for bankruptcy," according to Chris Fleisher of the PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW. Stack said that Dick's "may acquire some of its rival's empty stores as it looks to extend its lead in the specialty sporting goods industry." Sports Authority said that it will "close 140 stores -- nearly a third of its locations -- and it could shed even more in the months ahead." Analysts said that the pullback from Dick's chief rival "leaves many markets up for grabs, particularly in the Southwest and West Coast, where Sports Authority is strong and Dick's has a relatively small presence." Fleisher notes more than a third of Sports Authority stores slated for closure are in California, Arizona and Texas. Telsey Advisory Group Senior Research Analyst Joe Feldman said that Dick's will "want to seize the opportunity to acquire new customers and markets as it tries to bounce back" from a Q4 in which it reported a 2.5% drop in same-store sales and 17% plunge in profit. Dick's currently has 10% of the $70B U.S. sporting goods market and "is looking to grow its share in an industry that comprises mostly smaller regional stores such as Modell's or Academy Sports." Stack "did not say" which markets Dick's would push into. However, he said that the company plans to "ramp up marketing and store staffing in those regions and could consider acquiring locations vacated by Sports Authority" (PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 3/9).
MARKET WATCH: In Denver, Alicia Wallace notes '16 investment plans for Dick's include putting a "greater focus on athletic footwear and its private label women's brand." Stack told analysts that the company "also wants to expand its partnership" with the USOC and "plans to bring its e-commerce business in-house." Not including any Sports Authority leases that could be acquired, Dick's "plans to open" 36 stores in '16, two Golf Galaxy stores and nine Field & Stream outdoor-gear stores. The company "also plans to move nine Dick's locations" (DENVER POST, 3/9). Dick's said that investments, "expected to have an impact of between" $50-55M on earnings this year, "include plans to enhance the shopping experience in its stores as well as its partnership" with the USOC that includes offering flexible jobs to about 200 Olympic hopefuls (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 3/9).
