() is the world's largest sporting goods retailer. It is headquartered in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania ,
USA and has locations in 35 U.S. states with 261 stores. It is expanding rapidly. Mainly an east-coast and mid-west retailer, it has recently expanded into Texas, Kansas, Missouri, Colorado, Utah, Nebraska and Nevada with more stores to come. With its purchase of mid-west sports retailer Galyan's 48 locations in 2004 it became the world's largest in its industry in both revenue and market capitalization.
Dick's was founded by its namesake Dick Stack when he was just 18 years old in 1948. Stack worked at an Army/Navy store in
Binghamton, New York when his idea of expanding its product line to include fishing supplies was mocked by the owner. Relating his disappointment to his family that night, his grandmother decided to give him her life's savings and instructed him to "follow his dreams" with it. Opening up the first Dick's as a "bait & tackle" fishing supply store that same year and expanding into general sports merchandise in the late 1950's.
Through its close to 300 locations and a growing internet order business, Dick's provides authentic full-line sporting goods with a broad assortment of brand name sporting goods equipment, apparel, and footware in a specialty-store environment.
- Dick's Sporting Goods was the featured company on the NBC Reality show, '' The Apprentice ''. It was the first time in the show's history there was a mass firing after a task.
- Mad Money host James Cramer considers his recommendation to buy Dick's (one day before a 15% selloff in the stock due to a weak earnings report) among his worst recommendations ever.
