Defying the NRA Dick's takes a harder line against guns
Dick
Dick's Sporting Goods  will immediately stop selling assault-style rifles and ban the sale of all guns to anyone under 21   the company  said Wednesday  as  its  CEO took on the National Rifle Association by demanding tougher gun laws after the massacre in Florida.
The change in sales practices  and the emphatic words from Stack  put Dick's out front in the falling-out between corporate America and the gun lobby. Several major corporations  including MetLife  Hertz and Delta Air Lines  have cut ties with the NRA since the Florida tragedy  but until now  none were retailers that sold guns.
 Dick Sporting Goods  had cut off sales of assault-style weapons after the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. But sales had resumed at  its  smaller chain of Field & Stream stores  which consisted of 35 outlets in 16 states as of October.
Stack also revealed that Nikolas Cruz  the 19-year-old arrested in the Florida attack  had bought a shotgun at a Dick's store within the past four months.
The vast majority of  Dick 's business is selling sporting goods like basketballs and sneakers. Joseph Feldman  a senior managing director at the Telsey Advisory Group  estimated that guns and ammunition account for 8 percent of the company's sales.
 Dick 's  which had net sales of $7.92 billion in the fiscal year that ended in January 2017  has a much bigger stake in youth sports.
 Dick 's is based just outside of Pittsburgh in a state where the first day of deer hunting season is an unofficial holiday for many families. Stack said  Dick 's is prepared for any backlash but will never allow the sale of such guns in its stores again.
Pam Platt of Louisville  Kentucky  said she was thrilled to hear about  Dick 's move and called the store's customer service line to offer her praise. She said she told the representative who answered that she wanted her to "hear something good from somebody."
Platt said she now plans to start buying more at  her local Dick 's store  including a pair of sneakers this week.
"When I go to  the store   I will let them know why I am here " she said. "I care about this issue."
But many others were unhappy with the company's move  some posting on  the Dick 's page that they would stop shopping at its stores.
"I was sad to hear they would pull them off and bow to these people that have no understanding of what a gun is " said Gerald Jaeger  outside a  Dick 's in Brookfield  Wisconsin.
 Dick 's stock price was little changed as of midafternoon Wednesday afternoon  up 1.7 percent.
[TGT]'s Sporting Goods  will immediately stop selling assault-style rifles and ban the sale of all guns to anyone under 21   the company  said Wednesday  as  its  CEO took on the National Rifle Association by demanding tougher gun laws after the massacre in Florida.
The change in sales practices  and the emphatic words from Stack  put [TGT]'s out front in the falling-out between corporate America and the gun lobby. Several major corporations  including MetLife  Hertz and Delta Air Lines  have cut ties with the NRA since the Florida tragedy  but until now  none were retailers that sold guns.
 [TGT]had cut off sales of assault-style weapons after the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. But sales had resumed at  [TGT]  smaller chain of Field & Stream stores  which consisted of 35 outlets in 16 states as of October.
Stack also revealed that Nikolas Cruz  the 19-year-old arrested in the Florida attack  had bought a shotgun at [TGT]'s store within the past four months.
The vast majority of  [TGT] 's business is selling sporting goods like basketballs and sneakers. Joseph Feldman  a senior managing director at the Telsey Advisory Group  estimated that guns and ammunition account for 8 percent of the company's sales.
 [TGT] 's  which had net sales of $7.92 billion in the fiscal year that ended in January 2017  has a much bigger stake in youth sports.
 [TGT] 's is based just outside of Pittsburgh in a state where the first day of deer hunting season is an unofficial holiday for many families. Stack said  [TGT] 's is prepared for any backlash but will never allow the sale of such guns in its stores again.
Pam Platt of Louisville  Kentucky  said she was thrilled to hear about  [TGT] 's move and called the store's customer service line to offer her praise. She said she told the representative who answered that she wanted her to "hear something good from somebody."
Platt said she now plans to start buying more at  her local [TGT] 's store  including a pair of sneakers this week.
"When I go to  the store   I will let them know why I am here " she said. "I care about this issue."
But many others were unhappy with the company's move  some posting on  [TGT] 's page that they would stop shopping at its stores.
"I was sad to hear they would pull them off and bow to these people that have no understanding of what a gun is " said Gerald Jaeger  outside a  [TGT] 's in Brookfield  Wisconsin.
 [TGT] 's stock price was little changed as of midafternoon Wednesday afternoon  up 1.7 percent.