Dick's Sporting Goods will remove hunting departments from 440 more stores nationwide, continuing a program that began last year with the elimination of the category from 135 stores.

The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based sporting goods chain announced the news in its quarterly earnings news release Tuesday morning.

Company Chief Executive Ed Stack has long said gun and hunting departments are low-margin businesses. In stores where the category has been removed, the space has been filled with higher-margin apparel departments.

"It's pretty clear this is the right decision to make," Stack said in a 70-minute conference call with analysts Tuesday morning.

Dick's Sporting Goods takes stance on gun control

Company Chief Executive Ed Stack has been a staunch advocate of stricter gun control measures following the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, which left 17 dead. Immediately following the February 2018 shooting, Stack halted the sale of assault-style rifles at his stores nationwide, and raised the minimum age for gun purchases to 21.

Reaction from gun rights groups at the time was swift and furious, calling Dick's action a slap against law-abiding gun owners and threatening nationwide boycotts.

Dick's Sporting Goods stock, earnings remain strong

Despite the boycott calls, Dick's reported its best quarter in years last November, and Tuesday said same-store sales for the year, a key measure of retailer health, rose a healthy 3.7%. For the fiscal year, the sporting goods chain reported net income of $297 million, or $3.34 a share, on sales of $8.75 billion. The $1.32 per share fourth-quarter earnings result beat consensus analyst estimates by 10 cents a share.

"During 2019, we made meaningful changes across our business, which fueled our strongest annual comp sales gain since 2012," Stack said in prepared remarks in the release.

Following the removal of hunting and gun departments from another 440 stores this year, about 100 stores will continue selling the outdoors gear. The company has not announced which stores will be affected, but Stack said the category will remain in rural locations "where hunting is important for people to feed themselves."

At least one analyst covering the company said removing the hunt category from nearly 90% of the company's stores is a general positive for the company, and its sales and earnings prospects going forward.

"We attribute gains in part to CEO Ed Stack's venture into social activism, which we see bolstering brand loyalty and creating long-term goodwill," CFRA said in an investment note following the fourth-quarter earnings release.

Dick's said it will take a $48.8 million fourth-quarter charge connected to the move as it discounts merchandise in preparation to devoting the hunt space to "regionally relevant and growing categories."

In addition to 726 Dick's Sporting Goods stores in 47 states, the company operates 94 Golf Galaxy stores in 32 states, and 27 Field & Stream stores in 16 states with 42 million square feet of retailing space.

Last year, Dick's sold eight Field & Stream stores, targeted to outdoor enthusiasts, to Sportsman's Warehouse for $28 million.

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By the end of the company's second quarter, about mid-summer, the stores targeted for hunt department elimination will have floor space redesigned for categories that deliver higher sales and better profit margins. Replacement goods will be determined by specific market demand, company executives said.

"The hunt business is the lowest margin business we have," Stack said.

The company was founded in Binghamton, New York 72 years ago as a single bait-and-tackle shop on the city's East Side. It relocated company headquarters to Pittsburgh in 1994 and has since built a sprawling office complex adjacent to the Pittsburgh International Airport.

Jeff Platsky covers transportation and the economy for the USA TODAY Network New York. He can be reached at JPLATSKY@Gannett.com and followed on Twitter: @JeffPlatsky

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