Tom GantertCoraopolis, PA – Dick’s Sporting Goods announced Tuesday that it will stop selling guns at 125 stores.
This is just the latest step since the retailer took a hardline stance last year and changed its gun policies, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Ed Stack, chief executive officer of Dick’s Sporting Goods, said all of the stores on the list had reported “underperforming” gun sales, the Birmingham News reported.
However, they have not released a list of exactly which stores in the chain will cease gun sales.
Stack said the company would also stop selling some hunting gear at those locations, and that hunting products in those stores would be replaced by licensed athletic gear, the Birmingham News reported.
He also said the company is looking to remove guns from more stores in the future and pinned the initiative on marketing strategy.
“We look at this as a multi-year initiative,” Stack said, according to CNN. “If it goes as well as expected, we would probably take another batch of stores next year. … This is around having productive space.”
Dick’s Sporting Goods began changing its gun policies after it was revealed that the gunman at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School purchased his AR-15 at a Dick’s Sporting Goods store, WTVD reported.
In the wake of the massacre at the Florida high school in February of 2018, Dick’s Sporting Goods announced it was going to ban the sale of so-called “assault-style” rifles and accessories at its 35 Field & Stream stores.
“We at DICK’S Sporting Goods are deeply disturbed and saddened by the tragic events in Parkland,” the company said in a press release, referring to the Valentine’s Day high school massacre that left 17 people dead. “We support and respect the Second Amendment, and we recognize and appreciate that the vast majority of gun owners in this country are responsible, law-abiding citizens. But we have to help solve the problem that’s in front of us.”
The company promised it would destroy the guns it took off the shelves instead of returning them to the manufacturer, according to the New York Times.
At the same time, Dick’s Sporting Goods changed its gun sales policy and announced they would no longer sell firearms or ammunition to anyone under 21 years of age.
The company has struggled since it took the public anti-gun stance.
Springfield Armory severed ties with Dick’s Sporting Goods in May of 2018, after the company announced its decision to hire a team of lobbyists to push for gun control.
“This latest action follows Dick’s Sporting Goods’ decision to remove and destroy all modern sporting rifles (MSR) from their inventory,” Springfield Armory said in the release. “In addition, they have denied Second Amendment rights to Americans under the age of 21.”
“We at Springfield Armory believe that all law abiding American citizens of adult age are guaranteed this sacred right under our Constitution,” the company concluded.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation quickly followed suit, and unanimously voted to expel Dick’s from the trade association group a day after Springfield Armory, according to a press release.
The foundation, which represents more than 12,000 gun manufacturers and retailers, aims to “promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports,” according to the group’s website.
“The National Shooting Sports Foundation…the trade association for the firearms, ammunition, hunting and shooting sports industries, Board of Governors today unanimously voted to expel Dick’s Sporting Goods from membership for conduct detrimental to the best interests of the Foundation,” the press release read.
Dick’s Sporting Goods stores have suffered declining revenue and sales since the announcement, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Shares have fallen six percent this year, according to CNN.
The company has a total of 729 stores in 47 states.