Marketing in the News: Dick's Sporting Goods


I decided to write about Dick's Sporting Goods because I haven't heard much about this company in a while and was fairly interested in learning about what's going on. The title of one of the articles was in The Wall Street Journal as it read: "Dick's Sporting Goods' New CEO: Being a Female Leader Is a Huge Asset."

Turns out, Lauren Hobart is the very first CEO that is not blood related to this family-owned company. I found that very interesting and it’s also great to see women standing at the top. Dick’s Sporting Goods has been doing well despite the pandemic as there was an increase in demand for products like fitness equipment for the many people who decided to get fit and work on themselves. Hobart has been contributing good progress for the company as she has been pushing for growth by being more inclusive. Her focus I believe is for the minority of the consumers of Dick’s Sporting Goods, by being “more welcoming to women and people of color,” according to an article on Fast Company. 

A value proposition of Dick’s Sporting Goods includes being a recognizable brand as one of the top sporting goods companies in its industry. They are also very accessible whether it’s the 644 stores throughout the US or their mobile apps and online websites. Dick’s Sporting Goods is known for their wide range of products that they offer, such as fishing gear and athletic clothing. 

Hobart is investing towards new ways of attracting customers. One of the ideas is called “Public Lands,” meant to stand out to those who enjoy the outdoors as well as first-timers. The second concept called “House of Sport” is meant to attract customers to come in to experience activities such as wall climbing. Although providing service online is the most convenient, Hobart believes that bringing customers to the physical store is a big factor of the company’s future success. 

One of the main challenges involve how COVID-19 continues to affect businesses and how consumers react. After the very long quarantine period, people have adjusted to getting things done online, whether it’s browsing through athletic gear or buying new equipment. Hobart’s goal is trying to get the customers to come into the store and try out the products they may be interested in. Chances are that you’re more likely to purchase an item in-store than online because you’ll know for sure if the product is exactly what you were looking for or if the product would fit perfectly. This is a very unique approach in this time of high-speed internet and 2-day shipping that other companies have been focusing on. 

In my opinion, I don’t think that this is a bad approach, but it’s also not the best. It’s very good that the company is taking a risk towards attracting customers to the physical store as it’s a different approach from general businesses trying to survive the pandemic. But, I don’t think that the idea stands out enough to really get the attention of consumers. If I could do something about bringing growth to Dick’s Sporting Goods, I’d go deeper with focusing on welcoming more women. For example, opening gyms for women only. I know that women especially are not comfortable with going to the gym packed with men so it would be a great way to make the company a lot more inclusive in that sense. That could definitely lead to success for Dick’s as it would bring in more customers and more women would be buying products to use. 

Something I learned from doing the research for this assignment is that companies are always searching for ways to improve and grow. Dick’s Sporting Goods had a unique approach to how they are planning to market the company. Who knows? Maybe “Public Lands” and “House of Sport” are successful in marketing Dick’s Sporting Goods.


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