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Bicycles, golf and at-home fitness helped fuel a record quarter for Dick’s Sporting Goods, a bright spot in a challenged retail environment, as Americans sought to stay active and play outdoors amid travel restrictions and social-distancing measures.
“We are in a great lane for what’s going on right now in the country from an outdoor standpoint — the golf business, the camping business, kayaking, fitness, running,” Edward W. Stack, chief executive of Dick’s, said Wednesday on an earnings call.
The company had one of the best-performing stocks on Wall Street on Wednesday, rising more than 15 percent.
Dick’s, which also owns Golf Galaxy stores, has benefited especially from a newfound national interest in golfing, which is a particularly pandemic-friendly pastime.
“There’s a number of young people who have come into the game because they’re not playing football or soccer or some other sports,” Mr. Stack said. “So they’re out playing, guys are out playing golf because they’re not at their kids’ games. Men, women, and kids all really have jumped into this game, and we expect that to continue through the balance of the year, too.”
Dick’s net sales rose 20 percent to about $2.7 billion in the three months ended Aug. 1 and it posted a net profit of $278 million, its highest-ever quarterly sales and earnings, it said on Wednesday. Store sales jumped, despite temporary closures, and ecommerce sales, which includes a booming curbside pickup operation, nearly tripled.
The company will continue to lose sales tied to team sports in the fall and the typical back-to-school shopping season, but that was being offset by the interest in its other merchandise. Dick’s, based in Pittsburgh, operates more than 700 U.S. stores.
Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2020/08/26/business/stock-market-updates-coronavirus