Dick’s Sporting Goods Doubles-Down on Gun Control Push
Adam Scepaniak 03.28.18
Back on February 28th, Dick’s Sporting Goods released a series of tweets on Twitter stating their condolences for the victims of the Parkland incident. At that same time, they immediately began to roll out their company’s personal gun control measures.
We at DICK'S Sporting Goods are deeply disturbed and saddened by the tragic events in Parkland. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of the victims and their loved ones. https://t.co/J4OcB6XJnu pic.twitter.com/WmT50BO7mx
— DICK'S Sporting Goods (@DICKS) February 28, 2018
We deeply believe that this country's most precious gift is our children. They are our future. We must keep them safe. Beginning today, DICK'S Sporting Goods is committed to the following: https://t.co/J4OcB6XJnu pic.twitter.com/BaTJ9LaCYe
— DICK'S Sporting Goods (@DICKS) February 28, 2018
At the same time, we implore our elected officials to enact common sense gun reform and pass the following regulations: https://t.co/J4OcB6XJnu pic.twitter.com/VUuFKkyk6c
— DICK'S Sporting Goods (@DICKS) February 28, 2018
Then, just a few days later Dick’s Sporting Goods followed up that flurry of tweets with one final crowning statement.
— DICK'S Sporting Goods (@DICKS) March 2, 2018
It is unsure who they are really trying to appeal to with these swiftly implemented actions. Their former customers (operative word being “former”) were not happy to see the new changes and are taking their money elsewhere.
Fortune reported this:
Only weeks after winning accolades from gun-control advocates for ending sales of assault rifles at its Field & Stream stores, Dick’s posted a deeper-than-expected sales decline.
How deep of a sales decline do you ask? At its worst point, shares of Dick’s Sporting Goods dropped by 7.3 percent. The CEO of Dick’s Sporting Goods, Edward Stack, who is also the curator for all of the aforementioned tweets had foreseen the fallout coming, but maybe not to this degree:
There’s going to be some pushback and we expected that. There are going to be the people who don’t shop us anymore for anything.
“Don’t shop us anymore for anything” seems to be the case.
Edward Stack possibly understanding the error in his judgment, or just simply attempting to add validity to his previous statements, had these words to offer up:
As a gun owner, I support the Second Amendment and understand why, for many, the right to bear arms is as American as baseball and apple pie, but I also agree with what Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia wrote in his majority opinion in 2008’s landmark Heller case: ‘Like most rights, the right secured by the Second Amendment is not unlimited.’ It is not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose. It is clear we have a problem with the gun laws in this country. They are not squarely focused on keeping all of us safe — especially our children. There continue to be mass shootings — at our schools, churches and entertainment venues. Following each of these senseless, tragic events there’s a great deal of idle, fruitless talk in the halls of Congress, and then the conversation quickly comes to an end.
With signs of declining stock shares for their company, a mild or normalized shooting sports market compared to previous years, and indications of a potentially excessive inventory, will Dick’s Sporting Goods go the way of Gander Mountain?
If they keep alienating their customers, it could very well happen.
