Dick’s Sporting Goods executives shared key details about the company’s strategic playbook for 2026 at this week’s Morgan Stanley Global Consumer & Retail Conference in New York. Lauren Hobart, president and CEO of Dick’s Sporting Goods, Ed Stack, executive chairman, and Navdeep Gupta, executive VP and CFO shared details on Wednesday about the Foot Locker turnaround since acquiring it earlier this year, how Dick’s plans to expand its retail footprint and
Dick’s Foot Locker Turnaround Plans
Stack elaborated on his recent comments about the Foot Locker acquisition on Dick’s Sporting Goods’ third-quarter earnings call, repeating that Foot Locker had strayed from “retail 101” in recent years.
“The most misunderstood aspect of this is how simple this turnaround is — not that it’s not hard work, but we know exactly what we need to do,” Stack said. “We know exactly how we need to do it. We know exactly who’s going to do it. We know exactly who’s going to partner with us on it,” he said, adding that major brand partners are eager to see a “stable, growing, viable, predictable Foot Locker.”
The immediate focus is on “cleaning out the garage,” clearing old inventory in the fourth quarter to set the stage for a fresh start in 2026. The new management team, led by former Nike executive Anne Freeman, will have its first major impact on product assortment during the back-to-school season next year, which is when the company expects to see progress.
“Some people have asked, ‘so why not better in Q1 and Q2?’ Well, we hope it’s going to be better in Q1 and Q2, but our team did not buy the product for Q1 and Q2,” Stack said. “The product that’s going to be coming in was bought by a previous management team. Most of them are not here any longer. And the first time that we were able to touch and build the assortment for what Foot Locker is going to look like is in the back-to-school time.”
To test its new approach, Dick’s is bringing its “operational excellence” to Foot Locker, with a focus on 11 Foot Locker stores, Hobart said. The new layout features roughly 30% fewer SKUs and a more organized presentation that highlights key franchises. Apparel has also been reintroduced, and early results are promising. “We see some real green shoots that we’re really excited about,” Stack said.
Pre-COVID, Foot Locker’s international business was very profitable, Stack said. But in recent years, the international side lost significance as the EMEA reporting structure shifted, moving from operating independently to reporting to a counterpart in the U.S. Matthew Barnes, the former CEO of Aldi grocery in the U.K., will now run the European business. So far, the North America turnaround is moving more quickly than EMEA, but Europe is not far behind, Stack said.
House of Sport Tweaks and Retail Expansion
While Hobart couldn’t share details about Black Friday results, she said Dick’s is enthusiastic about the holiday season to come.
The House of Sport concept remains a central pillar of Dick’s growth strategy, with a target of opening 75 to 100 of the large-format, experiential stores. These locations have allowed Dick’s to secure prime real estate in high-performing malls that were previously inaccessible, Stack said.
The concept is also a testing ground for new ideas. For example, the success of a collectibles and trading card section, in partnership with Fanatics, is being rolled out to other stores. The stores are also proving to be an effective entry point for new brand partners like Gymshark, which is currently in 12 House of Sport locations. Hobart explained that the format allows new brands to “get comfortable with us, they build the trust, and we can continue to roll.”
The learnings from House of Sport are being applied to more traditional “Field House” stores, creating a flywheel of innovation across the company’s retail footprint.
A Different Approach to Business
Throughout the discussion, the executives stressed that Dick’s current success is a result of doing things differently than it had in the past. This transformation has been guided by four key pillars: elevating the athlete (customer) experience, focusing on the teammate experience, building the brand, and delivering differentiated products.
“Our vision is to be the best sports company in the world,” Hobart said. This broader vision has pushed the company beyond the confines of traditional retail with initiatives like the Game Changer app, a scoring and stat platform for youth sports that now has 9 million unique users. The app not only creates a direct connection with young athletes and their families — who are the company’s most loyal customers — but also forms the basis of a growing media network.
Looking ahead, Dick’s is preparing for a series of major sporting events in the U.S., including the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Stack believes the World Cup will be “the biggest sports moment this country’s ever had,” and Dick’s is positioned to be at the center of it, he said.
Kate Robertson can be reached at kate@shop-eat-surf-outdoor.com.
