Slumping Gun Sales?

In an article about slumping gun sales over at TTAGs, Dicks blames the political environment.

Allow me to retort.  Gun Sales may have slowed down overall… that is true.  The reason is not a lack of desire for new guns.  It’s a lack of liquid money in the hands of consumers.  Let’s be honest.  With Obama care and that economic stranglehold, compounded with cutbacks and rising gas prices… it’s tough to justify spending the extra green.  Now let’s add the fact that a lot of the popular guns use ammo that’s hard to find as well… Lots of factors go into an overall slump in gun sales.

But let’s look at Dick’s Sporting Goods specifically.  What could cause them to have lower sales compared to other gun stores?

I’ve been in several Dick’s stores between here in Richmond, VA for various reasons.  I always wander over to the gun counter to take a look.  What I see are the usual suspects of the common hunting guns… A couple Rugers, Remingtons, and a Marlins… A few shotguns.  Nothing interesting.  No MSR’s to speak of.  No handguns, which over the last few years have been the sales leaders.  Concealed Carry is the biggest sales segment and Dick’s is having none of that.   MSR’s have also been sales leaders and Dick’s doesn’t want to sell those in their stores.  So the #1 Rifle in America, they are too good for, so they are getting none of those sales.   Ammo selection was almost nonexistent, as was the Counter Help at the Gun Department.   And then when you could find someone to show you a gun, the person was an asshole that seemed to be put out that you were bothering him/her.   Never before has a Store ever been so well named.    Dick’s has slumping gun sales because they are not serious about being in the gun sales business.   They are more worried about Crossfit and Sports.  And that’s fine… The Gun Industry doesn’t need a store like Dick’s if their attitude is that of negligence and disrespect.

Message to Joe Schmidt, Dick’s COO:   Now, Dick’s could get back into the game.  And it wouldn’t take a lot of effort… but it would take a few new good people in the right places who can make Gun Department decisions separate from rest of Dick’s Corporate Structure.   They need some serious Gun Guys at Dick’s.   And they don’t have that.  Dick’s is wearing the shoes they laced up by their own choice.   Joe, contact me and we can talk about how to fix this.

11 thoughts on “Slumping Gun Sales?”

  1. I still wouldn’t buy guns from Dick’s after the way they dicked over Daniel Defense in the wake of Newtown. They need to make amends with DD, in a way that DD is completely happy with, before I buy anything from Dicks.

  2. Yeah, Dicks sales is slumping because of what they did to Troy and their customers after the Sandy Hook event. Gun owners remember stuff like that, and can hold a long time grudge.

    F them, I could care less if they went out of business today.

    1. Agreed with Laserbait, F-em. If you’re into golf or cheaply made (so called) name brand tennis shoes then so be-it, enjoy. Nothing in that store is worth stopping by for in terms of shooting supplies, they simply don’t care. I use to stop there to get a case of blue rock and shells for a fun saturday afternoon of bruising my shoulder, but alas, its not worth it anymore to give them any attention, let alone money. Wally world is just as bad of a joke, and K-mart…..totaly flipped me out when that sweathog O’Donnell F’ed everything up, goes to show what this world is coming to. But, I will say this “In time, what comes around, goes around. And it will be survival of the fittest”.

  3. Gun sales artificially spiked due to paranoia around political stirrings around potential gun control legislation. Now that the immediate threat has subsided the artificial spike in sales has been righted.

  4. Relax folks Dicks is a clothing store, not a sporting goods store. Try Cabelas or Bass Pro Shops for sporting goods…

  5. Totally agree. Went there once, they had a nice looking Beretta on the shelf I wanted to look at. But I went there in the evening, maybe an hour or so til closing. Not a soul in there other’n me an the sales guy. I kept trying to flag him down, but he was working on restocking his shelves. When he finally came close enough for me to speak without shouting I asked him if I could see it, he never looked at me, just kept walking by. I turned and walked out. Won’t buy anything from them again.

  6. Sometimes, a company’s name just FITS. “Dicks” is such a company, for reasons already mentioned.”

  7. Yes, for the box stores, Dicks is bush league for firearms. Cabelas, Bass Pro Shop and Gander Mountain are pretty well stocked and interested in this market segment. Prices aren’t the best, but at least they have decent inventory.

    Even Academy Sports, which is more aligned to the same market segment as Dicks (golf, kids group sports, athletic shoes and clothing), has a far better inventory and staff for the gun department than Dicks. The one here actually has a pretty extensive selection of good handguns.

    I trolled through the local Dicks store twice. The second time was to see if the first experience was a fluke. Sadly, it was just as bad. Not wasting the fuel or my time to go back.

    .22LR ammo is severely rationed or unavailable just about everywhere, not just Dicks (who had none on either visit) unless you hit these stores at exactly the right time.

    Agree that Dicks needs national firearms leadership. Huge underserved market, even in a down economy.

  8. All of Dick ‘ s sales should be slumping. I don’t give them a dollar unless I have no other option. And I have been known to go spend more money at a store that supports gun rights over Dick ‘ s who showed they are dicks when it comes to the prevailing political winds. That’s what you get for being dicks, Dick’s.

  9. I would much rather go to a local gun store and even have found nice used guns at pawn shops. The employees at large stores don’t care about customers. I have a few small stores that are independently owned, and are happy to work with me if I have a specific product I’m interested in. I have also found some of the smaller stores have a better supply of ammo, and even found a box of 500
    Winchester .22’s at a decent price. The big
    stores seem to sell out of ammo as soon as it is put out. I like the personal service at smaller, independent stores.

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