Dick's Sporting Goods on Tuesday named President Lauren Hobart as its next chief executive as the retailer's pivot amid the coronavirus produced strong quarterly earnings.

Hobart, who first joined Dick's in 2011, will step into the top job in February and replace Chief Executive Edward Stack, who will become executive chairman and continue as chief merchant.

Hobart, who worked at PepsiCo prior to Dick's, joins Michelle Gass at Kohl's and Sonia Syngal at Gap among female retail chain leaders. She praised Stack as a "mentor" and said she looked forward to "leading the company into this next phase of growth."

Stack, who as CEO made waves by halting sales of some guns from stores following mass shootings, praised Hobart as a "capable, innovative and respected leader."

Strong sales of home exercise equipment amid the coronavirus pandemic boosted results at Dick's Sporting Goods as it named a new CEO
Strong sales of home exercise equipment amid the coronavirus pandemic boosted results at Dick's Sporting Goods as it named a new CEO GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / JUSTIN SULLIVAN

The transition came as Dicks's reported that third-quarter profits more than tripled compared with the year-ago level to $177.2 million behind a 23.2 percent surge in same store sales.

The retailer has scored with increased sales for home fitness and athleisure clothing, offsetting lost revenue connected to uniform sales for school team sports. E-commerce sales increased 95 percent.

"Our stores continue to be the hub of industry-leading omni-channel platform and were the key to our unprecedented third quarter growth," Hobart said.

Shares of Dick's rose 1.4 percent to $59.68 in pre-market trading.

Coronavirus