Welcome to the Party, Hibbett Sports Inc. $HIBB

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6/26/17 Post: The past few years haven't been kind to the sporting goods and outdoor retailers with The Sports Authority, Eastern Mountain Sports (twice), City Sports, Golfsmith, Gander Mountain, MC Sporting Goods and JackRabbit Sports going bankrupt or being sold for parts. Now word is via Goldman Sachs that large brands like Nike ($NKE) will use Amazon's distribution channel directly and for exclusive products in an attempt to capture more of the millennial market. The news sent Foot Locker ($FL) and Dick's Sporting Goods ($DKS) stock reeling. This also doesn't bode well for the likes of Hibbett Sports Inc. ($HIBB). 

7/24/17 Update: "This also doesn't bode well for the likes of Hibbett Sports Inc. ($HIBB)." Well, we sure nailed that one on the head. This morning, HIBB is down over 29% on the news that it expects its Q2 same store sales to plummet approximately 10%. This, combined with gross margin pressures, will push the company to a Q2 loss - versus an expected consensus call of roughly 15 cents per share. The company also announced that it is launching an e-commerce site. Better late than never, we guess. 

Notable (Div Recaps, Golf, Molycorp, Sycamore Partners, WeWork)

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Dividend Recaps. Apparently they are not an exclusively American phenomenon. 

Golf. The best one of us shot a 125 last week so take what we're about to say with a (bitter) grain of salt: golf is pretty lame. Okay, fine, we'll backtrack and admit: we're getting into it but we definitely can see why millennials aren't biting, why Golfsmith filed for bankruptcy and why Nike straight-up cancelled its golf line. Still, a lot of lawyers, bankers, investors, (douchebags,) and advisors play. Perhaps that has something to do with the fact that golf is, in the words of Malcolm Gladwell, "crack cocaine for rich white guys." Read: a lot of you. Which is why we're bothering to mention it. Anyway, speaking of Gladwell, the new season of his solid podcast is up and you can listen to his first episode on the subject of golf here. It's worth the time - especially if you live in Los Angeles. 

Molycorp. Lots of fighting going on over the rare metals miner.

Sycamore Partners. The private equity shop is reportedly nearing a deal for Staples ($SPLS) for a reported $6b. 

WeWork. What happens to the upstart when the cycle turns? We reckon a lot of 363 lease rejections motions, that's what. 

Sporting Goods (Amazon Can Derelict Our Balls)

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The past few years haven't been kind to the sporting goods and outdoor retailers with The Sports Authority, Eastern Mountain Sports (twice), City Sports, Golfsmith, Gander Mountain, MC Sporting Goods and JackRabbit Sports going bankrupt or being sold for parts. Now word is via Goldman Sachs that large brands like Nike ($NKE) will use Amazon's distribution channel directly and for exclusive products in an attempt to capture more of the millennial market. The news sent Foot Locker ($FL) and Dick's Sporting Goods ($DKS) stock reeling. This also doesn't bode well for the likes of Hibbett Sports Inc. ($HIBB).