{{short description|American sporting goods retailing corporation}} {{Infobox company | name = Dunham's Sports | former_name = Dunham's Bait & Tackle (1937–1953) | logo = Dunhams logo.svg | type = [[Privately held company|Private]] | founder = Ron Dunham | area_served = [[Midwestern United States|Midwest]], [[MidAtlantic]], [[Southeastern United States|Southeast]], [[Southwest]] and [[Western United States|Western]] United States | key_people = Jeffrey G Lynn ([[Chief executive officer|CEO]])<ref name=Bloomberg /> David Lynn ([[President]]) | industry = [[Retail]] | products = [[sports equipment]], [[Apparel]], [[footwear]], [[exercise equipment]], [[firearms]], [[ammunition]], [[camping equipment]], [[boats]], [[fishing equipment]]. | revenue = US $1B | operating_income = | num_employees = 6,000 | num_employees_year = 2026 | owner = Dunham's Athleisure Corporation | website = {{Official website|www.dunhamssports.com}} | footnotes = | intl = | founded = {{Start date and age|1937|p=y}} in [[West Bloomfield Township, Michigan|West Bloomfield]], [[Michigan]] | hq_location_city = [[Troy, Michigan]] | hq_location_country = U.S. | num_locations = >260 stores (2026) | num_locations_year = }}
'''Dunham's Sports''' is an American [[Sports equipment|sporting goods]] retail chain owned by Dunham's Athleisure Corporation,<ref name=Bloomberg>{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/3668397Z:US|title=Dunham's Athleisure Corp - Company Profile and News - Bloomberg Markets|work=Bloomberg|accessdate=January 24, 2022}}</ref> with stores located in the Mid-Atlantic, Midwestern, Souteastern, Southwest and Western United States. The chain specializes in athletic equipment, apparel, footwear, outdoor sports including camping, boating, hunting and fishing. Dunham's is known for carrying a large assortment of name brand products at low prices. The chain has over 260 locations in 26 states, including [[Alabama]], [[Arkansas]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], [[Illinois]], [[Indiana]], [[Iowa]], [[Kansas]], [[Kentucky]], [[Maryland]], [[Michigan]], [[Minnesota]], [[Missouri]], [[Montana]], [[Nebraska]], [[New Mexico]], [[North Carolina]], [[North Dakota]], [[Ohio]], [[Oklahoma]], [[Pennsylvania]], [[South Dakota]], [[Tennessee]], [[Virginia]], [[West Virginia]], [[Wisconsin]] and [[Wyoming]]. [[File:Dunham's Sports (13887814813).jpg|thumb|Dunham's store in [[Athens, Tennessee]]]] [[File:Grand Traverse Mall - Concourse 04.jpg|thumb|Dunham's location at the [[Grand Traverse Mall]] in [[Traverse City, Michigan]]]]
==History== The first store opened in [[West Bloomfield Township, Michigan]] in 1937 as Dunham's Bait & Tackle.<ref name="About Us">{{cite web |url=https://www.dunhamssports.com/aboutus.html |title=About Us |publisher=Dunham's Sports |access-date=January 24, 2022}}</ref> It was operated by Ron Dunham on [[M-10 (Michigan highway)|Northwestern Highway]] west of [[U.S. Route 24 in Michigan|Telegraph Road]]. The original store gained exposure through advertisements in ''[[Newsweek]]'' and fishing shows hosted on radio. The original store burnt down in 1946 but was promptly rebuilt.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dunhamssports.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/RonDunham.pdf|title=It started with a tub of minnows|last=Vogel|first=Don|date=December 19, 2014|work=[[The Oakland Press]]|accessdate=September 7, 2018}}</ref>
Robert L Schmalzried bought the store in 1953 and relocated it to the corner of Northwestern Highway and Orchard Lake Road.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/99674304/|title=R. L. Schmalzreid started sport shops|last=Rossiter|first=Joe|date=September 23, 1988|work=[[The Detroit Free Press]]|page=6D|accessdate=September 6, 2018}}</ref> [[American Can Company]] acquired the chain in 1985.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/02/13/business/company-briefs-024504.html|title=COMPANY BRIEFS|date=February 13, 1985|work=[[The New York Times]]|accessdate=6 September 2018}}</ref> At the time of the acquisition, the chain had eight stores: five in [[Metro Detroit]], one in [[Grand Rapids, Michigan]], one in [[Anderson, Indiana]], and one in [[Muncie, Indiana]].<ref>{{cite magazine|date=March 2, 1985|title=Eugster assumes sporting goods role|magazine=Billboard|page=24|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WyQEAAAAMBAJ}}</ref> After merging with [[Primerica]], the company sold off Dunham's in 1989.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1989/12/18/72885/index.htm|title=COMPANIES TO WATCH TURNAROUND AT PRIMERICA The stock has jumped by one-third, even though some people still don't understand the company.|date=December 18, 1989|work=Fortune|access-date=6 September 2018}}{{dead link|date=May 2026|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> By 1991, the company had 49 stores and was headquartered in [[Waterford Township, Michigan]]. Dunham's Sports is currently headquartered in Troy, Michigan.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/554996255/ | title=Dunham's sports opens in Bay Mall | work=Petoskey News Review | date=August 30, 1991 | accessdate=January 28, 2020 | author=Stephen Brede | pages=14}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{Official website|www.dunhamssports.com}}
[[Category:1937 establishments in Michigan]] [[Category:American companies established in 1937]] [[Category:Companies based in Troy, Michigan]] [[Category:Economy of the Midwestern United States]] [[Category:Economy of the Southeastern United States]] [[Category:Privately held companies based in Michigan]] [[Category:Retail companies established in 1937]] [[Category:Sporting goods retailers of the United States]]