Tractor Supply Company

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]

On January 14, 1959, Tractor Supply became publicly traded on the Over-The-Counter Market and reached $10 million in sales.[7][8] The company was later traded on the New York Stock Exchange.[8]

In 1967, TSC opened its first international stores in Canada.[8] Two years later, Schmidt sold his controlling interest in the company to National Industries.[8] 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.[8] 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.[8] The company was incorporated in Delaware that year.[8]

On February 17, 1994, the company went public on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol TSCO.[7]

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] In 2002, the company earned $1.21 billion.[10]

Just two years later, in 2004, the company reported revenues of more than $1.7 billion and Fortune magazine named Tractor Supply to its list of the 100 fastest growing businesses.[11] That year, Tractor Supply moved its headquarters to Brentwood, Tennessee.[12] Jim Wright served as the CEO from 2004 to 2013.[13] He was replaced by Gregory Sandfort.[13]

In 2014, Tractor Supply made it on the Fortune 500 list.[14] On March 31, 2018, the company opened its 1700th store.[7] On September 4, 2018, the company celebrated its 80th anniversary by ringing the closing bell at the NASDAQ Stock Exchange in New York.[7]

TSC's 1,900th store opened in September 2020. By December, the company had 1,923 stores in 49 states.[15] By October 2021, there were 1,967 stores in 49 states.[16] Hal Lawton became CEO in 2020.[3] That year, the company received a Great Place to Work certification.[17]

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][18] That year, it also established the Tractor Supply Company Foundation.[19]

In 2021, Tractor Supply reached #291 on the Fortune 500 list and had over 20 million members in its loyalty program, Neighbor's Club.[20][3] TSC is the largest retail ranch and farm store operator in the U.S.[21][22]

On Oct 11, 2022, Tractor Supply received clearance from the FTC to close on its acquisition of Orscheln Farm & Home.[23] In order to mitigate federal anti-trust concerns, Tractor Supply sold 73 Orscheln stores and the Orscheln distribution center in Moberly, Missouri, to Bomgaars, and 12 stores were sold to Missouri-based farm store chain Buchheit.[24]

Tractor Supply's exclusive brands include:[30][31][32][29]

• 4health[33]
• Red Shed
• CountyLine
• Retriever
• Ridgecut[34][35]
• Blue Mountain[34]
• American Farm Works
• Barn Star
• Bit & Bridle
• C.E. Schmidt Workwear
• Red Stone
• Producer's Pride
• Job Smart
• Paws & Claws
• Traveller
• Treeline
• Pet Vet Clinic[36]
• Tractor Supply Co Rx

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."[37] In the mid-2000s, Tractor Supply conducted advertising campaigns featuring the slogan "The Stuff You Need Out Here."[11] The company's tagline later became “For Life Out Here.”[8]

From 1998 to 2002, George Strait was the spokesman for Tractor Supply.[10]

In 2020, Tractor Supply was a sponsor of the NBA.[38] In 2021, the company became a corporate sponsor of PBR.[39]

Tractor Supply has eight distribution centers:

• Waverly, Nebraska
• Pendleton, Indiana
• Casa Grande, Arizona
• Waco, Texas
• Franklin, Kentucky
• Frankfort, New York
• Hagerstown, Maryland
• Macon, Georgia

In 2021, the company broke ground on its ninth distribution center which will be located in Navarre, Ohio.[40]

The company has been a sponsor for 4-H since 2010.[41] In the fall of 2021, Tractor Supply raised $1.3 million for 4-H members through their Paper Clover campaign.[42] In 2016, the company started its Grants for Growing program to raise money for FFA students.[43] In 2021, the company raised $790,269.[43]

In 2019, Tractor Supply started working with the MuttNation Foundation, a nonprofit founded by Miranda Lambert that helps shelter pets. The foundation is supported by proceeds from MuttNation's line of pet products sold by Tractor Supply.[44][45][46]

In 2020, Tractor Supply joined Land O'Lakes, Microsoft and others in the American Connection Project to support rural broadband access.[47][48]

In 2017, all TSC stores were outfitted with LED lighting.[49] In 2021, the company was named to Investor Business Daily's 100 Best ESG Companies.[50] In December 2021, the company joined the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Power Partnership.[51] TSC has committed to net zero carbon emissions by 2040.[52]

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