Hardware Retailing The Industry's Source for Insights and Information
Tractor Supply, the largest rural lifestyle retail store chain in the United States, reported increases in comparable store sales for the first fiscal quarter, citing increased demand for animal- and pet-related and winter seasonal merchandise.
Net sales increased 9 percent to $1.18 billion from $1.09 billion in the prior year’s first quarter. Comparable-store sales increased 2.2 percent versus a 0.5 percent increase in the prior year period.
Key consumable, usable and edible products, and seasonal merchandise, most notably in the heating category, due to the extended cold weather drove the increase in comparable store sales. These increases were partially offset by the negative effects to sales from deflation and weaker sales of spring seasonal merchandise.
“Despite the late arrival of spring, our comparable store transaction count increased a strong 4.4 percent and we continued to gain market share by offering our customers a one-stop shop for their everyday basic needs,” Tractor Supply President and Chief Executive Officer Greg Sandfort said. “Our teams continue to work diligently to adjust timing of shipments, depth of inventory and marketing cadence by region to insure we are well-positioned to capitalize on the spring selling season as temperatures normalize.”
Tractor Supply opened 32 new stores in the first quarter compared to 22 new store openings in the prior year’s first quarter. This included the company’s 1,300th store, which is located in Bullhead City, Arizona.
