Dick’s Sporting Goods is turning its focus toward women for growth

Dick’s Sporting Goods might be best known as the place for a Little League Baseball coach to stop in for new gloves, a high-school basketball player to buy sneakers or an amateur golfer to pick up a new putter.

But the sporting goods retailer, now the last national player left standing and so a category killer in its industry, wants more women to shop there, realizing it’s always placed a bigger emphasis on men. To do this, it is making sure it has the products women are looking for.

“We’ve been somewhat maniacal with the brands about a lack of product assortment for girls and women. … We get a lot of complaints, understandably, from either girls or parents of girls who don’t feel like when they go into the store there’s enough product at all levels … and product for them,” President Lauren Hobart said at the Goldman Sachs Global Retailing Conference earlier this month.

“We’ve got our own private brands that we’re trying to [use to] address the issue … and we’re doing everything we can to get the [national] brands to meet it,” she said.

The effort comes as Dick’s Sporting Goods is beginning to pull itself out of a sales slump. Sales at stores open for at least 12 months were up 3.2% in the latest quarter, following seven consecutive quarters of either flat growth or losses. For Dick’s Sporting Goods, a successful attempt to woo more female customers could help boost the business overall, and keep it growing.

Shares of Dick’s Sporting Goods are up more than 30% this year, with more investors betting on a successful turnaround. The company has been strengthening its relationships with top brands like Nike and Adidas and adding more touch-and-feel opportunities in stores. It’s also growing its private labels for apparel and accessories, which is where women are becoming a bigger focus….[Read More]