Tractor Supply's Product Shift

BRENTWOOD, TN-Farm and ranch retailer Tractor Supply Co. has changed the merchandise in all 500 of its stores and is gearing for a more significant store rollout next year than it has had in 2004, company officials said yesterday during their third-quarter conference call. Same-store sales during the quarter were bolstered, in part, by the hurricane season.

The remerchandising reduced the square footage of agriculture-related repair parts and supplies in stores and increased the amount of animal feed sold in the company’s units. Tractor Supply also added more imported products and increased its number of vendors.

The company, which operates units in 32 states, plans to open 14 new stores by the end of the year. Tractor Supply has opened 38 units so far this year. During the quarter, it opened 13 units and relocated four. Company CEO James Wright said Tractor Supply will release its projected 2005 openings during its fourth quarter financial results. “The pace of change at Tractor Supply will not slow down,” he said. “Our execution will improve.”