Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc., or Dick's, is a Fortune 500 American corporation in
the sporting goods and retail industries headquartered in Coraopolis,
Pennsylvania. Dick's has 610 stores in 46 states as of
March 16, 2015, primarily in the eastern half of the United States. The company
also owns Golf Galaxy, Inc., a golf specialty retailer, with 82 stores in 30
states. The company also operates specialty chains True Runner and Field &
Stream. Founded in 1948 by Richard "Dick" Stack,
the chain has expanded to become one of the largest sporting goods retailers in
the world. History
In 1948, at the age of 18, Richard Stack worked at an Army/Navy store in his
hometown of Binghamton, New York, after World War II. At the owner’s request,
"Dick" explored the idea of expanding the product line to include fishing and
camping supplies, but the owner rejected Dick's suggestions, stating that Dick
“would never make a good merchant.” When Dick recounted his story later that
day, his grandmother advised, “Dick, always follow your dreams,” and gave him
$300 from her savings. He rented a storefront and opened the first Dick's
as a small "bait & tackle" fishing supply store, on Court Street near
Howard Avenue. In the mid-1950s, the store expanded
into the market of general sports merchandise and by the early 1960s, he
was able to build and open a new store on the corner of Oliver and Court St.,
naming it "Dick's Sporting Goods". The store prospered, and Dick eventually
opened a second store in Vestal, NY. In the 1970s, the Binghamton store moved
next door to an even larger facility. Dick Stack headed the organization until
his retirement in 1984. Dick Stack's son, Edward "Eddie"
Stack,succeeded him in the leadership of the company, expanding the two-store
business rapidly. Edward W. Stack has served as Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer of Dick's Sporting Goods since 1984, having started with the company
full-time in 1977, and gradually working his way up in a variety of positions
including: Store Clerk, Merchandise Manager, Store Manager and President.
In the early 1990s, Dick's began chain operations, opening additional stores
across Upstate New York. In 1994, Dick's moved its headquarters from Binghamton,
New York to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Corporate
The company used the e-tailing website dickssportinggoods.com, operated by GSI
Commerce under license and e-commerce agreements. Because the e-commerce
website was operated under a company separate from Dick's Sporting Goods, the
website often carried a wider selection than what is available in the stores
with prices occasionally varying. Starting in 2013, the company began
using a ship-from-store platform for online orders. This means that the
company has a detailed inventory for every store, and pulls new/used
inventory from a local store to fulfill online orders to reduce shipping costs.
As of March 2009, customers may return items purchased from the website.
Excluding revenues from Chick's, Dick's generated 2007 revenues of $3.965B in
fiscal 2003. With the inclusion of Chick's, Dick's now operates over 450
stores - surpassing competitors The Sports Authority in both stores and
revenue. Sponsorship
The company sponsors a number of sporting events, including:
Sponsor of the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro
Basketball - DICK'S Sporting Goods High School National Tournament
Football – Dick's Sporting Goods ESPN Kickoff Week
Soccer – Dick's Sporting Goods Park Golf – Dick's Sporting Goods Open
Running – Dick's Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon
Professional sports teams sponsored by Dick's include the NHL's Pittsburgh
Penguins and Colorado Avalanche, and the Colorado Rapids of the MLS.
Dick's has also sponsored SportsMatter.com, a crowdfunding site to
help support underfunded youth sports leagues.
Lawsuits and legal proceedings In July 1971, Dick's was accused of
infringing a patent owned by Furnace Brook, LLC, in a lawsuit filed in the
Northern District of Illinois. On March 31, 2005, the company restated
the first three fiscal quarters of 2004 as well as full-year figures due to
adjustments to its accounting for leases and tenant or construction allowances.
In August 2006, Dick's was accused of infringing two patents owned by Cushion
Technologies, LLC, in a lawsuit filed in the Eastern District of Texas. In April
2007, Dick's settled with the plaintiff and the lawsuit was dismissed.
In June 2009, Dick's was accused of infringing a patent owned by The Donkey
Company, Inc., in a lawsuit filed in District Court for the District of New
Jersey. In 2014 Dick's began a lawsuit against
Modell's Sporting Goods CEO, Mitchell Modell, for going undercover into their
stores to gain access to their retail secrets.
Acquisitions and expansion Dick's Sporting Goods opened in Florida
and California in 1997. Seven years later, the chain acquired the entirety
of Galyan's, an Indiana-based sporting chain. They also acquired Golf Galaxy
and Chick's in 2007. Plans were announced in 2010 to open
their first store in Washington state "with six more locations [in Oregon]
'coming soon.'" Oklahoma and Idaho followed in 2011, then New Mexico in
2012. On August 16, 2013, Dick's Sporting
Goods opened its first Field & Stream Shop in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania
at the site of the former Dick's location in Cranberry, operating as a
competitor to Cabela's. Willie Robertson of the reality television series Duck
Dynasty made a speaking appearance at a wedding at the store, with both
participants dressed in camouflage, as well as retired WWE wrestler Shawn
Michaels appearing at the store to sign autographs for the grand opening. Later
in the month, the store began selling AR-15 semi-automatic rifles, ending the
chain's 2012 self-imposed suspension of sales of certain semi-automatic firearms
following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Dick's has plans to
open at least two more Field & Stream Shop locations in Erie, Pennsylvania and
Crescent Springs, Kentucky. Dick's had bought the retail-related intellectual
property rights to the Field & Stream name from the magazine's owner Bonnier
Corporation in 2012 after having licensed the name for several years
before. Bonnier remains owner of the magazine.
Company logo and nickname The character assignments in the
apostrophe in Dick's Sporting Goods, which is usually seen are golf ball,
baseball, soccer ball and basketball, respectively.
See also Academy Sports + Outdoors
Bass Pro Shops Cabela's
Gander Mountain Legendary Whitetails
REI Scheels All Sports
Sportsman's Warehouse References
External links Dick's Sporting Goods