Dick’s Sporting Goods taps longtime Best Buy exec to head stores

A 24-year Best Buy veteran is joining the executive leadership team at Dick’s Sporting Goods.

The nation’s largest sporting goods retailer said that Ray Sliva will join the company as executive VP, stores, effective Jan. 3. Sliva will report to president and CEO Lauren Hobart.

Sliva joins Dick’s from Best Buy, where most recently served as chief people officer, responsible for leading all employee engagement initiatives. Prior to this, Sliva was Best Buy's president of retail, responsible for U.S. sales across all customer touchpoints, including in-home consultations, Best Buy for Business, digital sales, and nearly 1,000 brick-and-mortar locations. Throughout his 24-year tenure at the company, Sliva held various roles in operations and human resources.

“Our stores are a critical touchpoint with our athletes," said Hobart. "Ray's retail experience, passion for people, culture and operations will be tremendous assets as we continue to elevate the athlete and teammate experience in our stores.”

In November, Dick’s reported better-than-expected third-quarter profit and revenue and an unexpected increase in comparable store sales. Net sales rose 7.7% to $2.959 billion, ahead of the $2.702 billion analysts expected. Same-store sales rose 6.5%, on top of a 12.8% increase in the year-earlier period.

Also in November, Dick’s made a strategic investment in SidelineSwap, a platform for buying and selling new and used sporting goods. The unspecified investment builds upon a partnership the two companies initially launched in August 2022. At the trade-in events, customers can exchange their used sports gear and receive Dick’s gift cards to use toward their next purchase. Customers also have the option to donate all or a portion of their trade-in value to select local sports organizations. Items that do not qualify for trade-in can be donated or recycled.

Dick’s has also piloted an in-store buyback program with Out&Back, an online platform that buys and sells new and used outdoor and adventure gear.

Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Dick’s operates more than 850 Dick’s Sporting Goods, Golf Galaxy, Field & Stream and Public Lands stores, online, and through the Dick’s mobile app. The company also owns and operates Dick’s House of Sport and Golf Galaxy Performance Center, as well as GameChanger, a youth sports mobile app for scheduling, communications, live scorekeeping and video streaming.