Various companies that offer sport-related products exist to satisfy the needs of those who prefer an active lifestyle. Dick’s Sporting Goods is a corporation that provides equipment for athletes and outdoor enthusiasts across the US (“About us,” n.d.). Founded in 1948, the firm has now become the leading omnichannel retailer with more than 850 stores (“About us,” n.d.). Dick’s Sporting Goods has substantial strengths and promising opportunities, such as an established reputation and the ability to face crises, but it also faces considerable weaknesses and threats, like questionable brand loyalty and high competition.
Strengths
Dick’s Sporting Goods has several advantages that the company has accumulated through its history in the retail industry. First, the firm’s clients can purchase its products in various ways, including multiple offline locations in different states, an online store, and a mobile application (“About us,” n.d.). Second, the corporation is versatile as it offers items for different athletes, like those who need affordable equipment and individuals who like premium lifestyle apparel (“About us,” n.d.). Third, Dick’s Sporting Goods collaborates with famous people, like Alex Rodriguez and Carli Lloyd, to enhance the brand’s recognition and attract customers (Brown, 2020). Fourth, the company puts effort into engaging people with the label, such as transforming parking lots to test ride bikes or opening a store with an indoor rock-climbing wall (Brown, 2020; Repko, 2021). Accordingly, the retailer’s strengths include having diverse ways of selling goods, versatile products, collaboration with celebrities, and high client involvement.
Opportunities
Furthermore, Dick’s Sporting Goods has considerable possibilities for further growth and stability. First, although the spread of COVID-19 has negatively impacted countless lives and businesses, society has become more active as people are interested in maintaining health (Repko, 2021). Therefore, there is an increased interest in sports products, which is likely to benefit brands like Dick’s (Repko, 2021). Second, the firm has a relatively sound liability asset ratio of 53% when compared to other retailers, like Nike’s 74.3% (Liu, 2021). A high percentage of the ratio is likely to be a problem in case of emergencies related to enterprises’ debts (Liu, 2021). Consequently, Dick’s Sporting Goods has the potential to face crises adequately. The corporation’s primary opportunities are increasing sales and withstanding troubles.
Weaknesses
A main weakness Dick’s Sporting Goods is that many clients’ loyalty towards the brand has recently decreased. The company has recently declared that it will stop selling assault weapons, and such a decision has been criticized for not supporting people’s right to have firearms (Baird & Mayer, 2021). In particular, the firm’s pro-gun clients have claimed that they would stop patronizing the retailer’s sports-related products, like hockey gear, bats, and baseball gloves (Baird & Mayer, 2021). Accordingly, the corporation’s appeal to certain customers has changed because of views on weapons.
Threats
In addition to lowered loyalty to the brand, Dick’s Sporting Goods is confronting several threats. First, the corporation is facing claims of discriminating and retaliating against an employee on the basis of race, color, and national origin (Hayes, 2022). While the company presents itself as being committed to diversity and inclusivity, it is not clear how the court case will end and whether it will affect the business (“About us,” n.d.; Hayes, 2022). Second, although Dick’s Sporting Goods sales are likely to increase due to people turning towards an active lifestyle, the firm is expected to experience supply chain troubles due to the pandemic (Repko, 2021). Third, the retailer may encounter problems because of increasing competition from such global providers of sports products as Nike and Adidas (Garcia, 2021). Therefore, the primary weaknesses of Dick’s Sporting Goods are represented by the discrimination-based court case, supply chain issues, and contest with the industry’s other participants.
Related Diversification
Table 1 demonstrates a SWOT analysis of Dick’s Sporting Goods, and the findings suggest that the corporation should consider a diversification strategy. Such an approach focuses on expanding operations by entering new businesses (Dess et al., 2019). In particular, Dick’s Sporting Goods should concentrate on related diversification based on horizontal integration, which can be accomplished through a strategic alliance. An international expansion strategy, for instance, would not be useful because of supply chain issues (Repko, 2021). As people’s interest in maintaining health through an active lifestyle has grown, many Americans are now returning to gyms since Covid restrictions seem to ease (Thomas, 2021). Therefore, Dick’s Sporting Goods may benefit from partnering with a major fitness center to share some competencies and cooperate on attracting people to sports and selling the retailer’s products alongside the gym’s services. Corporate-level strategies concern the reasons for an organization to exist, and Dick’s Sporting Goods’ mission is to create an environment where athletes can flourish (“About us,” n.d.). By joining forces with a fitness center, the corporation can generate an actual place where individuals using the firm’s products can exercise and interact with each other.
Table 1. SWOT Analysis of Dick’s Sporting Goods (Created by the Author of this Paper).
References
About us. (n.d.). Dick’s Sporting Goods.
Baird, C., & Mayer, D. (2021). On integrative social contracts theory and corporate decision-making in a polarized political economy. Business and Society Review, 126(1), 3-23.
Brown, S. (2020). How Dick’s Sporting Goods stores are thriving in a digital world. MIT Management.
Dess, G. G., McNamara, G., Eisner, A. B., & Lee, S. (2019). Strategic management: Text and cases (9th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.
Garcia, T. (2021). Dick’s Sporting Goods launching concept store as competition heats up with Nike and other big brands. Market Watch.
Hayes, P. (2022). Dick’s Sporting Goods Covid firing claims head to federal court. Bloomberg Law.
Liu, X. (2021). Nike’s general company analysis based on its 2020 annual report.Advances in Economics, Business, and Management Research, 166, 799-803.
Repko, M. (2021). The pandemic made lifestyles more active, outdoor-focused, Dick’s Sporting Goods CEO Lauren Hobart says.CNBC.
Thomas, L. (2021). Americans are heading back to gyms as interest in at-home workouts wanes, Jefferies says. CNBC.