Posted on 08/23/2023 6:18:36 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Go woke, go broke. That's what conservatives say, and unfortunately, sometimes it's just rhetoric that doesn't materialize. Still, there are times when the adage proves true.
Enter Dick's Sporting Goods, the woke outdoor company that has prided itself on inserting itself into various cultural battles. As RedState reported, shareholders were greeted with bad news recently when it was revealed that Dick's saw a 23 percent drop in profit over the last quarter.
That sent the company into a freefall. On August 21st, the stock price was $141. Two days later, it was at $108 (for the up-to-the-minute price, click here). That's a dramatic drop for a well-known retail brand with so many years in the game.
The question is, what led us here? According to Dick's own admission, a sharp rise in retail theft has severely hampered profitability.
While we posted another double-digit EBT margin, our Q2 profitability was short of our expectations due in large part to the impact of elevated inventory shrink, an increasingly serious issue impacting many retailers.
That's more of a symptom than a root cause, though. The sudden onslaught of flash mob robberies and brazen shoplifters didn't just materialize for no reason, and I've got a pretty good idea of how we ended up here.
A story in four parts. pic.twitter.com/onQK8chsWB— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) August 23, 2023
Dick's has long prided itself on being at the forefront of the push for "Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion," which is just a fancy phrase for when a company wastes money paying do-nothings to push far-left policies within the broader culture. It's all about showing that a company is fighting for "justice" and is "giving a voice" to the whinest, most entitled members of its workforce.
Unfortunately for corporations that went down that path, the bill for their activism is now coming due. Nothing is disconnected from the culture, and when Dick's decided to go all-in on being woke, that didn't happen in a vacuum. Rather, the company fed into a far-left behemoth that actively sought to change laws surrounding bail and shoplifting. The result has been anarchy, where criminals can walk into a store, clean out an entire section, and walk out with little fear they will be prosecuted.
This is what happens when corporations decide to insert themselves into the culture wars. For its part, Dick's was at the forefront of banning gun sales following the Parkland shooting, as if doing so would have any impact at all on mass shootings. By 2019, the company had fully invested in a DEI department and made it a centerpiece of its corporate strategy.
The consequences of that have been a 23 percent drop in profitability due to the abuse of policies the company either directly or indirectly supported. So do I feel sorry for Dick's? Not in the least. I think they should continue to enjoy the fruits of their labor to the fullest.
I wrote to them about a spam problem and complained about this BS woke profile question. I told them I am done with Thorne because of this. They replied to my technical question, but didn't react to or answer my criticism of this woke crap and statement that I was done with them.
For the life of me, I cannot see how a Marketing Department could use the answer to this question to improve their products or product positioning. Are they going to concoct new, special tranny products?
Dicks…aptly named.
Dicks limp profits, weak ball sales, worrisome.
They are doing it for a two-fold reason. They can just ask the Gender rather than Sex question to allow the woke alphabet to put in what they want but then they ask the at-birth question for liability since there are supplements that might hurt a woman or man.
My son’s friend briefly worked at a Dick’s. The staff are indeed trained not to intervene in shoplifting but instead note details and notify mall security.
After he saw two multiple-person / gang shoplift episodes, he quit. He said he couldn’t stand to watch it.
Here’s my story:
I needed a live bait bucket and Cabela’s had one at a good price. I paid online and when I got to the store the bucket was wrapped up in a bag, so I didn’t inspect it.
I get home to discover the battery-powered bubbler, the critical part, was missing. So, I go back to the store.
They’re apologetic, and I go to get another one off the shelf. Out of the five buckets on the shelf, three of them were also missing the bubbler! To remove it took a phillips screwdriver, so whoever stole them came to the store with a tools.
I took them up to customer service to keep someone else from getting burned. So, out of the six thay had on the floor, four were unsaleable. The CS person told me they had loss prevention and cameras on site but still there was stuff still walking out the door. I’m ashamed of my fellow fishermen.
Well, at least one of them.
The performance of Dick’s stock is completely flaccid.
The corporation is perfectly named—a constant reminder of who they are.
Nothing!
When I asked why, I was told there was no market for bowling stuff in this area.
A bowling alley - Bowl America Bull Run (changing over to Bolero), is about a mile away from the store.
“since there are supplements that might hurt a woman or man.”
That’s an interesting aspect that I had not considered. Thanks for offering that.
McDonald’s sucks. Their burgers look like they’ve been wadded up in the glove compartment of a car for 2 days.
Been driving past Dicks for years.
It’s more than that. It is specifically anti-white and anti-West.
May they rot in hell.
I was just telling my son that one of my favorite game shows back in the day was Bowling for Dollars.
I’ve gotten pretty good Quarter Pounders, Big Mac’s and cheeseburgers
I don’t mind them and the BOGO helps
But it’s not for everybody 😬
I understand
I refuse to set foot in the place.
Last time I was in the local Dick’s was before their gun ban. I got a good price on a Mossberg 590, but haven’t stepped foot in there since.
Dicks is building a huge store with climbing rocks, shooting galleries, etc outside of Binghamton NY....it will be their largest store.....people there seem enthusiastic..
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