Sports retail has been at the center of some of the biggest news of the year, with ongoing talk of the turnaround efforts at Nike and Lululemon, not to mention Dick’s Sporting Good’s acquisition of Foot Locker. And in fact, many of these stories are more interconnected than they might seem:
“First of all, Dick’s got a real bargain here — they basically bought an $8 billion company for $2.4 billion,” said Matt Powell, Senior Advisor at BCE Consulting on this week’s episode of the Retail Remix podcast. “I think the secret sauce in this is that Dick’s is making a big bet that Nike turns around and turns around quickly. Not if, but when Nike turns around — because I’m a big believer in that — when Nike turns around, I think there’s no retailer in the world that will benefit more than Foot Locker.”
Alongside Shop Eat Surf Outdoor Editor in Chief Tiffany Montgomery, Powell breaks down the Dick’s-Foot Locker deal and the likelihood that Nike will return to its former dominance once a turnaround happens. And that’s only the tip of the iceberg that is this week’s episode; Montgomery and Powell also discuss:
- The operational edge that’s helped Dick’s pull away from competitors;
- Why lagging in grocery and losing its sense of fun have been just as harmful to Target as its recent DEI reversal;
- Lessons from Vuori’s cross-category and cross-gender success — and what legacy players like Lululemon can learn; and
- Why executives shouldn’t be lulled into a false sense of security following relatively rosy Q2 earnings.
“In the early days of tariffs, when there was tremendous uncertainty, brands and retailers pulled out every trick in the book to keep prices down,” Powell said. “I think that string has run out. There are no more tricks in the bag to pull out now and so prices are going, or have gone, up and are going to continue to go up.”
Advertisement
Tune in here or anywhere you get your podcasts for a candid discussion about what’s really happening with the biggest names in sports and activewear — and what retailers can learn from both their wins and missteps.
