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The Inflation as measured by the consumer price index (CPI) for the year 2014 was 1.62222%, 2015 was 0.11863%, and 2016 was 1.26158% (FRED Economic Data, 2018).

The annual unemployment rate for the year 2015 was 5.3%, 2016 was 4.9%, and 2017 was 4.4%, which has been decreasing for those three years (BLS, 2018).

The Federal funds rate for the past three years has been 0.37% for 2016, 0.90% for 2017, and 1.69% for 2018 (FRED Economic Data, 2018).

Trends in Demand

Over the last three years, Dick’s Sporting Goods has had a good run for the demand of its products, especially from health-conscious individuals. Despite there being strong demand, competition has been intensifying from the external competitors thus constraining the growth of revenue in the industry as the competition is based on setting high prices for the goods and services being offered. However, the revenue has been growing at an approximated 1.5% over the past five years and it is expected to continue growing in the next five years. The main contributors to the growth are the athletic apparel, equipment and footwear. The total revenue between 2012 and 2017 from the industry was $49 billion at an annual growth rate of 1.5%. It was contributed by 45,296 businesses with 308,922 employees. The top four companies that enjoy the market share are: Academy Sports & Outdoor, Bass Pro Shops, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Inc., and REI. (IBISWorld, 2017).

From the above chart, the demand for DICKS goods has been low and thus the need to develop a robust and effective strategy to roll out a campaign to increase awareness of the company’s products and services. The firm should start by encouraging sportswear outfits for the gym going individuals to enhance their sessions and ensure that they are successful in their venture. Secondly, there has to be a price discount on every $40 dollar spend at the company’s stores on a single purchase so that more customers are encouraged to purchase their favorite apparel.

Examining Available, Current data and Information

Dick’s Sporting Goods has its operating income rate high since it acquired Galaxy Golf, Inc. and therefore, it has to maintain a high operations budget compared to its competitors, this is a disadvantage to its operational budget. However, looking at its revenue, it is better placed than the competitor as it received $8.87 billion for the period 2017-18. Progressively, DKS has been performing better when it comes to revenue generation and this has seen it gain a better market share of 16.7%, however, for the fiscal year 2018, the growth will be at 3.3%. Academy Sports & Outdoor as well as Bass Pro Shops will have a growth of 3.3% for the fiscal year 2018. It should also be noted that part of the reason as to why there is a decline in revenue for DICKS, the company’s bottom line is being affected by both large volume of store openings and heightened promotional activity.

Concepts of Variable and Fixed Costs

The labor costs in the United States have been increasing over the past years to this present day. With the federal wage being the minimal allowed by law, it remained at $5.15 each year since the beginning of 1998 until 2008 when it was increased to $5.85. For every hour worked starting 2009, the payment was increased to $6.55 while 2010’s payment was $7.25. There are a number of states that have their minimal wage amount higher than the Federal rate as there are higher normal costs for essential goods. California is one of such states and it paid $10 in 2016, an increase from $9 in 2015, Alaska paid $9.75 in 2016 from $8.75 in 2015, as well as New York which paid a total $9 in 2016 from $8.75 in 2015.

It is therefore concluded that, increases in wages will adversely affect the financial results because as of late, different administrative developments have looked into ways of increasing the Federal minimum wage allowed by the laws of the United States, as well as each state’s minimum wages. As government or state the lowest pay permitted by law rates increase, we may need to increase not just the wage rates of our lowest pay permitted by law representatives, yet additionally the wages paid to our other hourly representatives too.

Furthermore, we should not neglect to increase our wages aggressively in light of expanding wage rates, the nature of our workforce could decrease, causing our client administration to endure. Moreover, while the U.S. Bureau of Labor's Final Overtime Rule ("Final Rule") has been charged, the Final Rule, on the off chance that we are required to go along, may affect the remuneration paid to representatives at present delegated "absolved," bringing about a generous increase in store finance cost. Any increase in the cost of our work could adversely affect our working costs, monetary condition and consequences of tasks.

Conclusion

There is likewise a modest link between growing demand and investment. For businesses to maintain their market share, they are required to have the ability of responding to the demand that is ever growing. Ideally, increasing capacity is required in this case and therefore, the need to undertake an investment.

With the available market, the Sporting Goods industry still has lot of work to do so that it can excel in all factions. This is due to the fact that most of the companies in the industries do not wish to respond to the push for increasing their labor costs as it will adversely affect their financial results this is mostly attributed to the fact that the operational costs will be increased and therefore, the revenue margin will decrease as a result. As much as DICKS enjoys a larger market share of the Sporting Goods industry, it is still not dominant because at 16.7%, other players are able to command the remaining 83.3% because the industry is made up of many retail stores and small companies, some of which exploit the price to achieve a competitive advantage in the market.

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