In a surprise move, DICK’S Sporting Goods is coming to East Hampton Village — though it’s not the type of store people generally associate with the sporting goods chain and its large-format “big box” retail footprint.
The company is planning a small pop-up store for the season at 34 Park Place, just feet away across the Reutershan’s parking lot from Gubbins, a locally-owned store at 54 Park Place serving runners and athletes since 1988.
“We are really excited to be popping up in the Hamptons this summer and look forward to engaging with the community through this store,” Aimee Watters, the vice president of Vertical Brand Marketing, said in a statement provided to Behind The Hedges this week. “This store will not feel like a traditional DICK’S Sporting Goods, but rather an expression of our in-house apparel brands — Walter Hagen, CALIA and DSG — and our tour golf ball brand, Maxfli.”
The pop-up, located in a 1,800-square-foot building that formerly housed Stone Source, will only be open from May to October. With DICK’s Sporting Goods stores usually ranging from 50,000 to 80,000 square feet, this pop-up shop is about 2 to 4% of the typical store. In 2020, Dick’s launched temporary pop-up stores for CALIA by Carrie Underwood (the partnership has since ended) in cities like Austin and Santa Monica, as well as a mobile pop-up in Nashville, which were designed as experiential branded showcases.
An ad on ZipRecruiter shows DICK’s is looking for part-time sales associates, listed as temporary positions for “a strategic collaboration between the Leap Platform and Dick’s Sporting Goods, designed ot bring a curated selection of their most premium private labels to a boutique setting.” The Leap platform is described as management for “insight-driven retail stores for modern brands.”
Golf appears to be a strong focus of the pop-up, but it will only feature particular lines at certain times over the summer, explained as “three distinct brand takeovers.”
When the shop opens on May 14, it will feature Walter Hagen, a private-label golf apparel brand owned by DICK’s Sporting Goods and named after the pioneering American professional golfer, which offers men’s and women’s apparel.
Come June, the store will then switch to CALIA, the women’s apparel brand at DICK’s, and finish from September to October with DSG, a full-family apparel brand.
Maxfli, which will also sell accessories, such as bags and gloves, will also be featured in the store.
The pop-up shop will close on October 18.
The East Hampton Star was first to report the news, which has outraged locals, who are worried about the impact on Gubbin’s.
Runners Barbara and Justin Gubbins founded the eponymous sporting goods store in 1988 in Southampton Village, followed by the East Hampton location the following year. The family still operates two, the one at 28 Hill Street in Southampton, which was coined Running Ahead, and the other at 54 Park Place in East Hampton, known as The Perfect Fi. For nearly 40 years, the stores have been open year-round, providing expert sneaker fittings, affordable prices and even organizing running clubs. Their son, Geary, has taken over the Southampton business.
“Obviously, it’s always a concern when a new competitor enters the market, especially a national chain, but it’s hard to gauge the impact until we see their product mix firsthand,” Geary Gubbins told Hedges on Friday. “What we can say is how grateful we are for the loyalty of our customers — the support we’ve seen both in-store and online has been incredible.”
He continued, “As business owners, here every day, we recognize how important year-round businesses are to the character of East Hampton. We’ve heard the concerns from locals, and we share them. Gubbins remains committed to serving the community year-round and truly appreciates the continued support.”
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