Tractor Supply Company

Tractor Supply Company (also known as TSCO or TSC), founded in 1938, is an American retail chain of stores that offers products for home improvement, agriculture, lawn and garden maintenance, livestock, equine and pet care for recreational farmers and ranchers, pet owners, and landowners. The company has 2,000 stores and is headquartered in Brentwood, TN. It is publicly traded on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol TSCO and is a Fortune 500 company.

Tractor Supply Company
TypePublic
IndustryRetail
Founded1938 (1938)
Minot, North Dakota, U.S.
Headquarters
Brentwood, Tennessee
,
U.S.
Number of locations
1,923
Area served
49 U.S. states[1]
Key people
Hal Lawton - President and CEO
ProductsClothing & Footwear, Dog, Cat & Pet Supplies, Trailers & Accessories, Lawn and Garden Supplies, Propane & Heating Supplies, Tools & Gun Safes, Fencing, Welders & Welding Supplies, Lawn Mowers & Power Generators, etc
RevenueUS$ 10.620 billion (2020)
US$ 996.9 million (2020)
US$ 749.0 million (2020)
Total assetsUS$ 7.049 billion (2020)
Total equityUS$ 1.924 billion (2020)[2]
Number of employees
42,000[2] (2020)
Websitetractorsupply.com
A Tractor Supply Co. location in Springboro, Ohio

History
Interior of a Tractor Supply Company store in East Tawas, Michigan.

1938-1998

Charles Schmidt founded Tractor Supply Company in Chicago in 1938 as a mail-order catalog that sold tractor parts to working farms.[3][4] The first retail store was founded in 1939 in Minot, North Dakota. From 1941 to 1946, the company opened stores in Nebraska, Minnesota and Iowa.[3][5][6]

In 1967, Tractor Supply opened its first international stores in Canada.[7] Two years later, Charles Schmidt sold his controlling interest in the company to National Industries.[7] This and other factors, such as changing executive leadership and adding inventory that strayed from its traditional categories, led to a few years of losses for the company.[7] In 1979, the company moved to Nashville, Tennessee.[4] In 1982, Tractor Supply put ownership of the company back in the hands of executives and returned to their farm-store niche, resulting in a break-even year.[7] The company was incorporated in Delaware that year.[7]

On February 17, 1994, the company went public on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol TSCO.[8]

1998-2003

Over time, Tractor Supply expanded to also serve hobbyist farmers, such as families living in the suburbs with an interest in gardening and livestock.[3][9]

2004-2019

Just two years later, In 2004, when the company reported revenues of more than US $1.7 billion and Fortune magazine named Tractor Supply to its list of the 100 fastest growing businesses.[10] That same year, Tractor Supply moved its headquarters to Brentwood, Tennessee.[11] Jim Wright served as the company’s CEO from 2004-2013.[12] He was replaced by Gregory Sandfort.[12]

In 2014, Tractor Supply made it on the Fortune 500 list.[13] On September 4, 2018, the company celebrated its 80th anniversary by ringing the closing bell at the NASDAQ Stock Exchange in New York.[8]

2020-Present

The company's 1,900th store opened in September 2020. By December, the company had 1,923 stores in 49 states.[14] By October 2021, there were 1,967 stores in 49 states.[15] Hal Lawton became CEO in 2020.[3] During the COVID-19 pandemic, Tractor Supply was deemed an essential business and remained open.[3] The company saw revenue grow 27 percent as more people turned to gardening, and pet and livestock ownership.[3][16] In 2020, it also established the Tractor Supply Company Foundation.[17]

Products

Tractor Supply carries between 15,500-20,000 products in store, including work and recreational clothing, lawn and garden tools, home goods, fencing, truck beds, chicken coops, pet food, and feed for farm animals.[18][19] Online, the company offers thirteen product categories and sells between 125,000-150,000 products.[19]

In 2020, the livestock and pet products category accounted for 47 percent of the company's sales.[2] Two categories tied for second-highest sales with 21 percent each: hardware, tools, truck and towing products; and seasonal products such as lawn and garden equipment, gifts, and toys. They were followed by clothing and footwear with 7 percent and agricultural products with 4 percent of sales.[2]

Marketing

Tractor Supply's mission statement is: "To work hard, have fun and make money by providing legendary service and great products at everyday low prices."[20] In the mid-2000s, Tractor Supply conducted advertising campaigns featuring the slogan "The Stuff You Need Out Here."[10] The company’s tagline later became “For Life Out Here.”[7]

From 1998 to 2002, George Strait was the spokesman for Tractor Supply.[21]

Acquisitions and subsidiaries

In 2002, Tractor Supply was part of a group (also including four liquidation firms) that purchased some of the leases of the bankrupt Quality Stores, Inc.,[22] a Michigan-based company which at one time had operated over 300 stores in 30 states under the names CT Farm & Country; Country General; Quality Farm & Fleet; County Post; Central Farm and Fleet, and FISCO. In September 2016, Tractor Supply acquired Petsense, LLC, a leading small-box specialty retailer of pet supplies primarily located in small and mid-size communities.[23] In February 2021, the company announced that it would acquire Orscheln Farm & Home for $297 million.[24]

Tractor Supply also owns Del's Feed & Farm Supply, a former farm retail chain in the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii,[25] with all but two Del's stores having been converted into Tractor Supply stores.[26]

Maternity litigation

A lawsuit filed against the company by former employee Melissa Douglas claims the company violated the Americans with Disabilities Act when it refused to offer her modified work duties while she was pregnant. [27]

TSC Stores L.P. (Canada)
Main article: Peavey Mart

In November 1966, TSC opened its first Canadian location in London, Ontario. The Canadian stores have not been affiliated with the U.S. operation of Tractor Supply Company since 1987, when the American parent company sold these locations to Birch Hill Equity Partners Management Inc., an investment company based in Toronto. Current owners Peavey Industries LP are phasing out the TSC brand in Ontario, and all stores will be under the Peavey Mart banner by February 2021.[28]

References
  1. Pulman, Alecia; Fraser, Brittany (October 28, 2014). "Tractor Supply Company Enters Utah Market". MarketWatch. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
  2. Tractor Supply Company. "Form 10-K For the fiscal year ended December 26, 2020" (PDF).
  3. "How poultry and a pandemic put Tractor Supply ahead of the pack". Fortune. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  4. Press, KARIN MILLERThe Associated. "Tractor Supply Co. Has Big Appeal for Self-Sufficient Customers". The Ledger. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  5. Kytonen, Rachel. "Tractor Supply Company coming to Cambridge". hometownsource.com. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  6. "Creston Tractor Supply Company to hold grand opening Saturday". Creston News. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  7. "A 360-Degree View of Tractor Supply Company". Hardware Retailing. 2015-05-27. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  8. "Tractor Supply celebrates 80th anniversary with Nasdaq closing bell". Beef Magazine. 2018-09-05. Retrieved 2021-10-12.
  9. Hanbury, Mary. "Millennials ditching cities for the US countryside are boosting sales at rural businesses, the CEO of a $22 billion agriculture retailer says". Business Insider. Retrieved 2021-10-30.
  10. Rhoades, Emily B.; Irani, Tracy (2008). ""The Stuff You Need Out Here": A Semiotic CaseStudy Analysis of an Agricultural Company's Advertisements". Journal of Applied Communication Research. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
  11. Walsh, David. "Tractor supply opens new corporate headquarters". Williamson Home Page. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
  12. "Tractor Supply CEO to step down in 2013". HBS Dealer. Retrieved 2021-11-07.
  13. III, G. Chambers Williams. "Tractor Supply lands on Fortune 500 list for first time". The Tennessean. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
  14. "Tractor Supply acquires 167-store Orscheln Farm and Home". Chain Store Age. Retrieved 2021-11-28.
  15. "Tractor Supply boasts 22M loyalty members, many of them young and spending money". Retail Dive. Retrieved 2021-11-28.
  16. Fontanella-Khan, James (2020-05-02). "Americans embrace country lifestyle under lockdown". Financial Times. Retrieved 2021-10-30.
  17. Staff, Kathleen Serie, WZTV (2020-04-09). "Tractor Supply Company gives hourly employees $2 raise, hires workers during pandemic". WZTV. Retrieved 2021-11-11.
  18. Business, Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN. "Chicken coops for everyone: A rural chain is thriving as millennials flee cities". CNN. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
  19. "How poultry and a pandemic put Tractor Supply ahead of the pack". Fortune. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
  20. "Tractor Supply Company - Company Overview - Mission and Values". corporate.tractorsupply.com.
  21. Fox, David A. "Tractor Supply 4th-qtr. results up; Goodbye to spokesman George and other conference call notes". Nashville Post. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  22. Forrester, Brian (May 13, 2002). "Tractor Supply plows Quality row to growth". Nashville Business Journal. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
  23. "Tractor Supply Company Announces Acquisition of Petsense, a Growth-Oriented Pet Specialty Retailer With 136 Stores". Yahoo! Finance. September 29, 2016. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
  24. Garcia, Tonya (February 17, 2021). "Tractor Supply acquires Orscheln Farm and Home in $297M cash transaction". MarketWatch. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  25. "Del's Feed and Farm Supply". Tractor Supply. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
  26. "Tractor Supply Company - Company Overview". corporate.tractorsupply.com.
  27. Mayfield, Cedra (June 17, 2021). "'Resign and Come Back After You Have Your Baby': Employment Suit Tests Benefits Eligibility". Daily Report. Retrieved 2021-06-19.
  28. "Cornwall TSC Stores to become Peavey Mart". Cornwall Newswatch. 2020-09-02. Retrieved 2021-06-19.

Further reading
  • Eddy, Nelson (2004). Work hard, have fun, make money: the Tractor Supply story. Brentwood, Tenn.: Tractor Supply Co. ISBN 0976106604.
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