Dick’s Sporting Goods is weighing getting out of the gun business.
The sporting goods chain has quietly been conducting a test for the past several months, removing firearms from 125 of its stores and monitoring sales. It could announce a final decision on whether it will continue to sell guns as early as Thursday, when it releases its quarterly earnings.
The company, which is in the pre-earnings quiet period, did not immediately reply to a request for comment from Coins2Day.
Dick’s has been reconsidering its firearm sales since early 2018, after the high school shooting in Parkland, Fla. After that incident, the company ceased sales of assault rifles like the AR-15 and raised its minimum age to buy a guy to 21. It destroyed the weapons instead of selling them to a competitor, prompting the National Rifle Association to lash out at the company.
“Thoughts and prayers are not enough,” Dick’s CEO Ed Stack said in a statement at the time. “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.”
Dick’s began considering the full ban on hunting gear (the category that guns fall under there) late last year, initially removing guns from 10 stores. That number has been steadily increased as the test expanded.
The company will report its earnings before the market open on Aug. 22.
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