Dick’s Sporting Goods
Dick’s Sporting Goods, Inc. is an American sporting goods retailer. Founded in 1948 by Richard “Dick” Stack, the company operates 854 stores with about 50,100 employees. The company is also a Fortune 500 company. This article explores the company’s history, its history as a bait-and-tackle shop, and how it expanded to small and medium-sized towns and developed private label brands.
Dick’s began as a bait-and-tackle shop
As a young man, Dick Stack began selling fishing lures and other tackle at a local bait-and-tackle store in Binghamton, New York. It wasn’t until he was eighteen that he was asked to start Dick’s Sporting Goods. With a mere $300 from his grandmother in a cookie jar, Dick’s quickly grew into a regional chain of fishing tackle shops.
Dick’s developed several private label brands
As a company that specializes in the sale of outdoor gear and clothing, Dick’s has embraced technology and the internet, introducing various new products and services. The company introduced an Internet site that was modeled after its stores. It featured merchandise organized into sports-related specialty shops. Customers could search for products by sport, brand, price, and more. They could also place orders for more than one item in one purchase. The new site performed well technologically and received a positive consumer response. By August 2002, Dick’s had more than one million registered Scorecard members. The company’s online store has expanded its product list from three thousand to three hundred and forty-five specialty shops.
Dick’s launched its Internet site on Super Bowl Sunday
On Super Bowl Sunday, 1999, Dick’s Clothing and Sporting Goods launched its official website. Designed to mirror the physical store experience, the site allows customers to search for products by brand, category, price, and more. A number of new features were added to the website in the following months. Below are some of the most notable changes since the site first launched. This article examines these changes and why Dick’s launched its Internet site on Super Bowl Sunday.
Dick’s opened 15 new stores in 2002
The off-price retail business is an important long-term strategy for retailers like Dick’s. It allows the company to reach value-based customers, but it must make sure the quality of products and services is high enough to justify the price. The Dick’s House of Sport concept has a “house of experiences” that attracts customers from all walks of life. Customers can take up yoga classes or enjoy a putting green at the store’s House of Sport. They can also take part in a tennis-training session or a baseball glove steaming experience.
Dick’s Outlet offers clearance and closeout dickys sporting goods
The sports department at Dick’s announced the opening of two clearance concepts this month. One will be a Dick’s Sporting Goods Store, and the other will be a Warehouse Sale. These locations will be open for the next six months. Last May, the department store chain converted three of its locations into “Dick’s Outlets,” which are closeout and clearance stores. The OVERTIME stores offer savings of 75 percent or more off Nike, Adidas, and Under Armour. The Dick’s Warehouse Sale offers deeper discounts, with merchandise up to 90 percent off.