Key Black Friday Takeaways For Academy Sports, Dick's & Other Leisure Brands

Black Friday is one of the biggest shopping days of the year for leisure brands and retailers. Bank of America made store visits in New York, New Jersey and Texas, and analyst Robert Ohmes said in a note there were a number of key takeaways for leisure investors.

Fewer Promos: Overall, Ohmes said promotions were down compared to a year ago. Black Friday pricing was particularly aggressive for Dicks Sporting Goods Inc DKS, which did not repeat its 2020 storewide 25% off sale this year.

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Ohmes said in-stock levels are also significantly improved compared to a year ago in categories such as bikes, home fitness, hunt/ammo, golf and outdoor entertainment. Improved inventories in bikes & home fitness equipment in particular allowed for more promos this Black Friday. Dicks, Academy Sports and Outdoors Inc ASO and Callaway Golf Co ELY are positioned to benefit from strong Black Friday demand in the golf category.

Outdoors & Athletic Apparel: Ohmes also expects strong Black Friday sales in home/family entertainment, including Academy’s 50% off game tables sale and likely impressive numbers from Solo Brands Inc DTC Solo Stoves.

In Texas, Bank of America reported strong traffic in the flagship Yeti Holdings Inc YETI store.

Finally, Ohmes said momentum in athletic apparel & footwear continues, which is good news for Dicks and Hibbett Inc HIBB. At Hibbett, Bank of America observed out-of-stocks in several “high heat” Nike Inc NKE styles, including Air Force 1, Air Jordan 1 and Retro Jordan.

Benzinga’s Take: Investors won’t know how good or bad Black Friday was for most of these brands until the companies comment on it on their fourth-quarter earnings call in January. Between now and then, investors will be monitoring the headlines on the omicron variant of COVID-19 and whether or not it triggers any retail closures or negatively impacts holiday shopping traffic.