Dick’s Sporting Goods Pulling All Guns From Some Locations
Dick's Sporting Goods, one of the largest firearm retailers in the U.S., is taking steps to move farther away from selling guns at it's retail locations. On Tuesday, Dick's said that it was going to remove firearms and other hunting related products out of 125 of it's stores.
The guns and hunting supplies will be replaced by things like batting cages, ski apparel and other equipment. If the switch is successful, as it was in 10 other stores where it was tested this fall, the move will be expanded to even more Dick's locations.
After last year's school shooting in Parkland, Florida, Dick's CEO Edward Stack learned that one of the guns that the suspect had purchased was from a Dick's Sporting Goods store. That gun was not used in the shooting, but it could have been. Stack took actions that made it harder for people to purchase guns at his stores, and removed some models from the shelves. This week's announcement is the next step in getting guns out of Dick's stores completely.
Despite the controversy involving the announcement, Dick's is expecting sales this fiscal year to grow by up to 3%. They have Iowa stores in Burlington, Cedar Rapids, Council Bluffs, Davenport, Dubuque, Waterloo, and West Des Moines.
[via NY TImes]