This past June 220 CEOs wrote a letter to the Senate asking them to take action immediately to lessen gun violence. In 2019 a similar letter had been sent, this time though it had many more signatories. One of the signatories, Ed Stack, of Dicks Sporting goods, has been a leader in corporate activity against gun violence, so much so that his actions have been a case study from the Harvard Business Review. In 2018 Stack, himself a gun owner as well as a second amendment supporter, was so shaken after the Parkland shooting, that he decided to limit the sale of guns at his 850 plus stores and eliminate assault weapons. The reason for him was simple, “ I don’t want to be part of the story anymore,” he said. Dicks Sporting goods, lost money at first, but rebounded, a sign that corporate America may have more influence in controlling guns than politicians. Stack announced his decision on Good Morning America and that same day, LL Bean, Walmart and Kroger joined him. The Harvard case study attributes his success to the fact that he consulted with his executives, sought a kind of consensus and also engaged in a campaign communicating what he was doing and why. They do say however that the fact that he was the chief s stock owner as well as the CEO played a role. In an article about the CEO’s letter to the senate, the news website Axios summarized its importance by writing that not only did this letter have 50% more signatories than the one in 2019, but also that in light of Dicks sporting good experience as more companies and more CEOs take action it’s going to be harder for other consumer brands to doge the gun issue. And if that’s so then it would be a very hopeful step.
Guns and Dicks Sporting Goods
