DICK’S ‘UNDER’ ARREST

Armour label flags

Dick’s Sporting Goods will be selling fewer guns and less hunting gear this year — but poor sales of Under Armour merchandise can really shoot holes in its bottom line.

The sporting goods chain, which reported poor holiday sales, flagged “significant weakness in the Under Armour brand” and declining sales in its hunting division for its weaker-than-expected quarter ended Feb. 3.

While Dick’s decision on Feb. 28 to stop selling assault-style rifles and high-capacity ammunition magazines — as well as any gun to those under 21 years old — had no bearing on its quarterly results, Chief Executive Ed Stack said on Tuesday the move “won’t be positive from a sales and traffic standpoint” in 2018.

Stack’s gun gambit comes as overall firearm sales are declining. FBI firearm background checks, a proxy for gun sales, fell 8.4 percent in 2017 from the prior year.

“We are meaningfully reducing our exposure to this industry,” Stack said.

Remington Outdoor, feeling the effects of lower industry sales, is expected to file for bankruptcy protection in the coming days.

Stack added that it is “too early to tell” how the com- pany will be impacted by its 2-week-old new firearm policy.

“We were surprised by the outpouring of support” early on, he added, “and we knew there would be people who wouldn’t shop us for anything” because of the policy.

In the most recent quarter, Dick’s hunting-related sales fell in the double digits.

Dick’s expects overall comparable sales for the year to be flat to down slightly.

“The comp guidance was a hair worse than people thought it would be,” said Susquehanna Financial Group analyst Sam Poser.

In a tough retail environment, investors breathed a sigh of relief as shares of the chain rose 1 percent, to close at $32.88 on Tuesday.

The 700-plus-store chain is also beefing up its private label business as some of its major brands, including Nike and Adidas, expand their distribution channels and as demand for Under Armour sags.

Dick’s private label business became a $1 billion brand last year and could double over the next few years, the company said.

But there have also been hiccups. One private label brand, Second Skin, had poor sales and was halted. It will be relaunched, Stack said.