Dick’s Sporting Goods, Inc. (NYSE:DKS) is the largest full-line, omni-channel sporting goods store in the US with over 700 stores and an expanding online presence selling an extensive selection of equipment, apparel, footwear and accessories. We invested in Dick’s after the company’s earnings growth slowed due to weakness in its golf business combined with a slowdown in guns and ammunition sales. We believed the company had finally accepted that there is a secular decline in golf and had a solid plan to improve profitability by allocating square footage from golf to more popular product lines and closing many of its specialty golf locations as their leases come up. Gun and ammunition sales were weak against a tough comparable period that had seen strong demand due to worries about increased gun control. Industry data indicated to us that gun and ammunition sales were picking up as the tough comparable period passed. This thesis played out quickly and we initially had gains in our investment and held on to the stock as the company continued to post solid earnings results. During the quarter, however, the company announced that historically warm weather would hurt sales of outerwear and reduce earnings. We continue to hold shares of Dick’s Sporting Goods as we believe it is the best merchandiser in its category, has a compelling and improving online presence, and will benefit from strong market share gains in brick and mortar retail as weaker competitors succumb to the pressure of online competition.
From Meridian Contrarian Fund Semi-Annual Shareholder Letter 2016.
