Dick’s Sporting Goods Sees Q1 Sales Gain from Web

Sales at recreational retailer Dick’s Sporting Goods rose 5.2% in first-quarter 2009, helped primarily by new store openings and the rollout of a company Web site enabled for e-commerce, the company announced yesterday.

Sales for the quarter rose 5.2% over the same period last year to $959.7 million, the company said. But same-store sales dropped 65 during the quarter, and Dick’s earnings dropped to almost half of the Q1 2008 level: $10.2 million, compared to $19.6 million a year ago.

In a conference call after announcing its quarterly results, leaders of the Pittsburgh-based recreational equipment and apparel company said the sales drop reflected weakness primarily in the golf category, where it operates the Golf Galaxy store brand. While same-store sales for the Dick’s brand were off 4.6% for the quarter, same-store sales at Golf Galaxy were down 19.75% for the period.

Leadership predicted that the company will reduce spending in the remainder of 2009 and manage inventory carefully.