Specialist
Former C-Level Executive at Dick's Sporting Goods Inc
Agenda
- Dick’s Sporting Goods (NYSE: DKS) and its positioning in the consumer sporting goods sector
- E-commerce platforms and distribution initiatives, highlighting Dick’s strategic positioning vs Amazon and peers
- Dick’s 2019 national merchandising strategies and bricks-and-mortar growth opportunities
- Decline of the hunting and fishing categories
- 2019 outlook – potential disruption from Amazon or traditional retailers
Questions
1.
What are your thoughts on the sporting goods sector? What trends should we pay attention to?
2.
How have these market trends affected Dick’s lately?
3.
I get the sense Dick’s competes most heavily with Academy, since it’s one of the biggest regional players. Could you tell us how Dick’s competes with Academy, by product class and pricing
4.
Do you foresee Academy becoming a significant e-commerce player in the next 2-3 years? What is the tangible impact of Academy’s debt level? Might that impact its promotional activity?
5.
Moving on to the other regional players, how do they compete with Dick’s in their respective regions?
6.
What are Dick’s considerations when opening new stores? What do you think about the decision to slow new store openings?
7.
What do you think store remodels should look like for Dick’s? What percentage of stores do you think need remodelling, and how do the economics of remodelling work for Dick’s?
8.
How much CAPEX do you think Dick’s needs to sustain itself, as a share of revenue or on a per-store basis?
9.
What are your thoughts on the two new distribution centres in New York and California? Do you think they’re appropriately placed? How do they relate to Dick’s e-commerce business?
10.
How has Amazon impacted Dick’s online business, and how do you think that impact will evolve?
11.
What do you think is a realistic penetration level for Dick’s in the future? You mentioned a 10-20% online figure earlier.
12.
Do you have any additional comments on Dick’s e-commerce business?
13.
According to publicly available data, dollar volume spend at sporting goods stores has increased recently. Dick’s has called the current pricing environment rational. Given those two factors, do you think we should expect some macro-level tailwinds in the short-term for Dick’s and other sporting goods retailers?
14.
How are Nike, Adidas and Under Armour positioned within Dick’s? How might that have changed with some of those brands going directly to Amazon?
15.
Do you think it’s likely that Dick’s will move further away from hunting gear including firearms and ammo?
16.
I understand that Dick’s expects some margin compression for the remainder of 2019 due to about USD 30m in investments. When do you think these investments could pay off, in the form of higher same-store sales or higher gross profits?
17.
What do you think about Edward Stack [CEO, Dick’s] and his management team? What do you think their strengths and weaknesses are?
18.
What do you expect from Dick’s in a potential recessionary environment, should one arise in the next 2-3 years?
19.
What do you think Dick’s could do better to convert customers that come into the store and don’t buy anything?
20.
Do you have any closing remarks about Dick’s and the sporting goods market?