The mall chain, which depends on new and retro sneaker styles, is getting hit hard by fewer launches and shifting demand in athletic footwear.
The promotional environment in athletic footwear, especially lifestyle sneakers, is extreme at the moment and will last through the rest of the year, according to Dick’s Sporting Goods Executive Chair Ed Stack, speaking on a conference call with analysts Tuesday.
Comps at Dick’s also missed expectations, but rose nearly 5%, spurred by “broad-based growth across categories, including strong results from the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and growth in average ticket and transactions,” the company said in a press release Tuesday.
“We're going through that with these legacy silhouettes, the new styles of shoes that are coming out from brands across the board — whether it be Nike, whether it be [Adidas], whether it be On, Hoka — we're going through that reset right now,” Stack said.
Running and performance shoes are performing well, but lifestyle footwear is struggling as people move on from some legacy sneaker silhouettes and other types of shoes, executives said.
“I do think there is a shift toward this brown shoe piece of this ... whether it's Ugg and Birkenstock, and we continue to participate in those,” Stack said. “Those businesses for us are really on fire. They're up significantly. We've got a couple of other brands that we're looking at to bring in also, and so they will help offset this, as the athletic business goes through this transition period.”
Dick’s will benefit the most from those shifts, though there will still be margin pressure, especially in Q3, he said.
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