Sales Drop After Dick’s Changed Gun Policy

After the Newtown massacre, Dick’s Sporting Goods stopped selling certain semi-automatic, magazine-fed rifles and cancelled all pre-ordered Troy Carbines. Guess what happened to their sales? Guns.com has the details:

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If there’s a silver lining for all the people who were eagerly waiting for that Troy Carbine and were vastly disappointed, it’s that Dick’s isn’t doing so well in the financial department.

At a time where the only thing a company has to do to sell firearms, ammo and accessories is to unlock their doors, Dick’s sales have flat-lined. In fact, their sales dropped 2.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012 compared to 2011 and their shares 10 percent in the last quarter.

Dick’s CEO denied that the drop in sales had anything to do with the changed gun policy, and instead pointing a finger at Lance Armstrong, whose doping controversy negatively impacted the Livestrong brand. The CEO also placed blame on the ammunition shortage.

Dick’s denied that their sales were low because of the store’s gun policy, instead they pointed the finger at the ammunition shortage.

But other sporting goods stores are not feeling the pinch despite the ammo drought. In fact, Cabela’s is doing better than ever and investors have been quick to point out that it’s because of their strong gun sales.

“Cabela’s Inc. stock closed up more than 16 percent, among leading gainers on the New York Stock Exchange, and hit a 52-week high Thursday after reporting strong financial results above the market’s and the company’s expectations.”

Gun sales accounted for almost two-thirds of Cabela’s gains, with their sales up by 24 percent over last year.

“First-quarter results exceeded our expectations on every line of the income statement,” said Cabela’s Tommy Millner. “In addition to expected increases in firearms and ammunition sales, we saw particularly strong performance in softgoods and footwear.”

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