Dick’s Sporting Goods sales at existing stores fell short of forecasts in Q1, and the chain said that it "plans to scale back new store openings," highlighting the "continuing challenges facing sporting-goods retailers," according to Sara Germano of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. Dick's said that sales at stores open more than a year rose 2.4% for the quarter ending April 29, "well below expectations" of 3.5% by analysts. Dick's Chair & CEO Edward Stack said that the company "planned to open" 15-20 stores in '18 as it "waits for real-estate prices to come down," and possibly as few as 5-10 in '19, compared with 43 this year. He added that the company "could consolidate stores or choose not to renew leases as they come up over the next few years." The company’s results "drew criticism from Wall Street" early yesterday. Citi Managing Dir Kate McShane wrote that the "same-store sales miss, particularly underwhelming e-commerce growth, was 'worse than we thought.'" UBS Equity Research Analyst Michael Lasser, who downgraded the company's stock from "buy" to "neutral," wrote that Dick’s economic position as a sporting-goods retail leader is "proving to be fragile" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 5/17). USA TODAY's Nathan Bomey notes Dick's "maintains a healthy balance sheet," but its "long-term challenges are coming into sharper focus" (USA TODAY, 5/17). Dick's execs said that the company is "weathering short-term pain while planning for the long term." In Pittsburgh, Stephanie Ritenbaugh notes Dick's is "investing in its digital assets -- its website and Team Sports HQ business that targets league sports at the high school level and below" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 5/17). At presstime, shares of Dick's were trading at $42.03, up 2.3% from the close of business yesterday (THE DAILY).
