An under appreciated part of Dicks business is its dominance of the kids sports leagues.

There has never been a better time to sell parents all the stuff their kids need to play sports.

Families are now shelling out more than $40 billion every year on children’s sports activities, according to Aspen Institute research.

As much as they may rant about the intensity, time commitments and increasingly absurd economy of youth sports, there is no way to escape it—or avoid their nearest Dick’s Sporting Goods.

As it turns out, youth sports have been very good to Dick’s. Over the past decade, the company’s revenue has roughly doubled. Last year, it generated a record $14.1 billion in sales. Instead of shopping online or schlepping kids to multiple stores, parents just stop by Dick’s for everything they need.

“It is basically the only game in town,” said Neil O’Connor, the equipment coordinator of his 14- and 11-year-old sons’ league in Baltimore.

wsj.com - Dicks sporting goods app youth sports

My niece has two teenagers who play competitive sports: swimming and soccer. She spends several hundred dollars in gear every month, a lot of it at Dicks. Most of the teams order their uniforms, gear, trophies through Dicks. The latest racing swimsuit costs $500 and she needs to buy several a year as its “slickness” in water fades away sfter 2-3 months.

I used to think Dicks was just another big box retailer waiting to be eventually crushed by online discounters. Not so. After their woes with FL integration are history, their youth sports moat will remain. They usually trade at a PE multiple in the twenties and rarely go on sale.