Dicks is ultimately going to fail. They launched with a bit of a different business model. They were going to staff each department with people that were specialists in the respective areas. So if you wanted to get started in golf, you could talk to someone who had a level of training and product knowledge to steer you in the right direction. They priced their merchandise higher and paid their employees more than the competition as well. It didn't take the long to come to terms with two realities. American consumers are bargain hunters. Stock holders put intense pressure on companies to keep payroll at the lowest percentage of sales as humanly possible. Payroll is the single largest controllable expense most businesses have.
They have a token presence in departments like hunting, fishing and camping. Some stores have abandoned hunting altogether. They have put themselves in a decent position with bicycles, occupying the ground between Wal-Mart and specialty shops. Unfortunately that's not a high profit market. Their golf and team sports departments are solid. Shoes and apparel are high profit. Competition is fierce in those categories though. Can they stay afloat? I don't know. Their sales and profit have been steadily rising over the past few years, but their net income has been wonky.
https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/dks/financials
