Revenue at Dick’s Sporting Goods was little changed for the most recent earnings quarter, several months after the company instituted a controversial policy on selling firearms.
Overall sales at the Pittsburgh-based sporting goods retail chain grew $2.18 billion for the three months through Aug. 4, up just 1 percent from the prior year, while profits rose 6.2 percent to $119 million.
“As expected, sales were impacted by the strategic decisions we made regarding the slow-growth, low-margin hunt and electronics businesses,” Chief Exectuive Officer Edward Stack said in a statement. Stack drew criticism earlier this year when Dick’s, in the aftermath of a Florida high school shooting that left 17 students and staff dead, opted to raise its minimum age to purchase a gun to 21 and banned sales of assault rifles at the retailer. He previously said the policy likely brought in new customers.
A conservative investor in June said groups like the National Rifle Association might launch a boycott of the retailer, and the company cited the potential for negative reaction to the policy as a potential risk to performance targets.
