In the grand scheme of things, the article in the url below is not a big story, especially for a large corporation with over two billion dollars in annual sales. Nevertheless, it seems like a meaningful statement and, as such, something worth sharing with you all:
"Edward W. Stack, the chief executive of Dick's Sporting Goods, said in an interview this week that his company had destroyed over $5 million in military-style, semiautomatic rifles and was reviewing whether it would continue to sell guns in its more than 720 stores."
As such, this story is a follow-up to the announcement last year that Dick's was going to remove all guns from sale in its stores (see Strategic CSR – Dick's + Guns):
"In April 2018, Dick's Sporting Goods, one of the largest firearms sellers in the United States, said it planned to destroy the military-style rifles it had agreed to take off its shelves weeks after the shooting [in Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida]. … Previously, the Pennsylvania retailer had also agreed to ban the sale of military-style rifles at its 35 Field & Stream stores, and to stop selling firearms and ammunition to anyone younger than 21."
This was not an insignificant decision by the company:
"Mr. Stack [said] that the restricted sales cost the company a quarter of a billion dollars."
But, it looks as though the decision may now be resonating with key stakeholders:
"Despite the shift in strategy, the company has seen signs of improvement. In August, Dick's announced that same store sales increased 3.2 percent in the second quarter."
In this sense, Dick's has been rewarded for taking the lead among companies on this controversial issue:
"Since the massacre in Parkland, corporations have responded to the public's growing demand for gun control measures. Among them are Walmart, the nation's largest gun seller; L.L. Bean; and Kroger, which said in 2018 it would restrict gun sales at its Fred Meyer stores. Dick's, though, has been one of the most proactive."
For Stack, however, the issue is straightforward:
"'I don't understand how somebody, with everything that's gone on, could actually sit there and say, 'I don't think we need to do a background check on people who buy guns,'' Mr. Stack said. 'It's just, it's ridiculous.'"
Even so, it is refreshing to hear a CEO with the courage to back his/her moral convictions:
"Mr. Stack [said] he had already removed all guns from more than 100 Dick's stores and was considering expanding the ban to the rest of them. 'We've got the whole category under strategic review to see what we're going to do,' he said."
Take care
David
David Chandler
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Dick's Destroyed More Than $5 Million in Guns
Dick's Destroyed More Than $5 Million in Guns
By Laura M. Holson
October 9, 2019
The New York Time
Late Edition – Final
B8
