What Sports Authority And Dick’s Sporting Goods Indicate About The State Of The Retail Industry
A week after Sports Authority filed for bankruptcy, Dick’s Sporting Goods announced plans to open 36 new stores. The two starkly contrasting news items send a message about the state of the retail industry today — and it doesn’t look good, at least on the surface.
Sports Authority, which announced it would also be closing 140 of its 463 stores, had been saddled with debt ever since went private in a leveraged buyout nine years ago. The chain, many have said, has been losing out to Amazon and other online retailers, as well as niche players including Lululemon and Athleta.
