Online sales grow 32% in the first quarter and account for 8.5% of sales.

Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. has been among the most successful retail chains online, growing web sales by an average of nearly 31% annually over the last five years. Those strong online results continued in its fiscal first quarter, which ended May 2, Dick’s reported today.

E-commerce accounted for 8.5% of sales during the quarter, an increase from 7.0% in the same quarter last year. With total sales growing 8.8% to $1.565 billion from $1.439 billion, that means online revenue increased about 32% to $133 million from $101 million, and the web accounted for 25% of total sales growth year over year.

However, same-store sales, including e-commerce, increased only 1.0%, and the company’s sales gain largely came from its opening more than 50 new stores in the past year. In fact, analyst Matt Nemer, managing director of equity research at Wells Fargo Securities, estimates that online sales growth exceeded total same-store growth, with sales at existing bricks-and-mortar stores slightly lower in the current quarter than a year earlier.

Dick’s, No. 70 in the Internet Retailer 2015 Top 500, added 10 physical stores in the first quarter, which is significant for its e-commerce operation because company executives have said that when a store opens in a new market, online sales in surrounding areas go up 50%. At the end of the fiscal first quarter Dick’s operated 612 Dick’s Sporting Goods stores in 46 states, 78 Golf Galaxy stores in 29 states and 11 Field & Stream stores in six states.

“We are pleased with our first-quarter results as we generated earnings at the high end of our expectations, despite a slow start to the spring season,” chairman and CEO Edward W. Stack said in a statement. “I am confident in our full-year outlook as we remain focused on growing our business through driving store productivity, adding new stores in new and underpenetrated markets, expanding and controlling our e-commerce business, and further developing our Field & Stream specialty concept.”

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For the fiscal first quarter ended May 2, Dick’s Sporting Goods reported:

  • Net sales increased 8.8% to $1.565 billion from $1.439 billion in the year-ago quarter.
  • E-commerce penetration increased to 8.5% of sales from 7.0% a year earlier. That suggests online sales increased about 32% to $133 million from $101 million.
  • Net income of $63.345 million, down 9.5% from $69.984 million in last year’s first quarter.
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