Academy Sports and Outdoors Eyes Future Growth
As with other retailers, 2022 has been a year of adjustment and growth for Academy Sports and Outdoors. The sporting goods retailer continued moving forward with its store opening plans while adjusting to the ever-changing needs of its shoppers.
For example, a drop in demand for hunting products such as ammunition along with other outdoor items were key factors in a 6.2% decrease in sales for the retailer’s third quarter. However, when comparing sales for the 13-week period ended Oct. 29 to third quarter sales in 2019, net sales were up 30.5%.
“When you look at our business, we’re happy with the performance of three of our four segments that include apparel, footwear and sports and recreation,” Steve Lawrence, Academy’s chief merchandising officer, told Store Brands. “We also know we were anniversarying strong sales of ammunition from Q3 of 2021, when we had people who were concerned about supply shortages lining up outside our stores.”
Lawrence and the management team at Academy Sports and Outdoors are not concerned with the blip on the radar, and are looking forward to 2023 that will see the sporting goods retailer continue to expand its footprint.
During the third quarter, Academy opened four new stores and has since opened three new stores in the fourth quarter, bringing the total number of stores opened in 2022 to nine, for a total of 268 locations. The company expects to open 80 to 100 stores over the next five years.
Bullish on future growth, Lawrence said Academy is filling a void in the mid-tier portion of the sporting goods marketplace.
“We view ourselves as a value provider in our space,” he explained. “Our core customer is an active, young family in the (annual) income range of $50,000 to $150,000. We offer a robust product assortment priced to help stretch their dollar.”
To help consumers find the biggest bang for its buck, Academy offers a robust private label assortment that complements its collection of familiar national brands. The store brands include Magellan Outdoors, Freely, R.O.W., BCG, H2O Xpress, Mosaic and O'Rageous and cover outdoor apparel and equipment, women's and men's apparel, workout attire, fishing equipment, outdoor furniture and water gear, respectively.
Lawrence said Academy utilizes private label products to offer shoppers the familiar good/better/best mix in a variety of categories. As an example, T-shirts and shorts sold under the Nike or Under Armour brand are priced at $19.99 and $24.99 respectively. Similar items sold under Academy’s proprietary BCG brand would be priced at $4.99 to $9.99 for T-shirts and $9.99 to $19.99 for shorts.
“Our private label products are quality items that while not offering the cache of national brands, give shoppers an alternative at a lower price point,” he said. “These items provide comfort during a workout and can also be worn to stay comfortable when taking a flight.”
Currently, private label products account for about 20% of total company sales. Lawrence said that number could grow to 25% going forward.