Lowe's rival opening 90 stores by the end of this year
Tractor Supply Company is coming for Lowe's with a whopping new store count.
The nation's largest rural lifestyle retailer is set to open 90 new locations by the end of the year.
With these 90 stores, the number of Tractor Supply locations will rise to about 3,200 across 49 states.
At least 18 of these new locations were former Big Lots stores, which the retailer bought during a last minute rescue deal after Big Lots filed for bankruptcy last year.
A spokesperson told USA Today that those locations are strategically positioned in areas to serve the needs of farmers, animal owners, ranchers, gardeners, homeowners, and tradesmen.
The openings also occurred just in time for Tractor Supply to launch its new Field & Stream-branded hunting and outdoor gear.
The chain is also planning to open 10 new Petsense by Tractor Supply stores, crossing the 200 unit mark.
As of now, the retailer has already opened 15 new stores in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, and West Virginia.
The openings are part of Tractor Supply's 'Life Out Here' strategy, created to help with its growth.
'Over the last five years, we have delivered strong financial performance and enhanced our competitive advantages through the execution of our Life Out Here strategy,' said CEO Hal Lawton.
'Our Life Out Here 2030 strategy continues the momentum of our existing initiatives as well as launches new initiatives such as Pet Rx and Direct Sales.'
Tractor Supply initiated the original plan in 2020, which featured a new store layout and remodeling program in half of its stores.
It helped the chain land 22 million Neighbor's Club loyalty program members, open 13 distribution facilities, and increase sales by more than 300 percent.
With its updates, the chain is now aiming to finish the year with $225 billion in revenue instead of its original $180 billion expectation.
The chain started its goal off on a high note after delivering a 2.1 percent increase in first quarter scales amounting to $3.47 billion.
The company said that new store openings and the contribution from Allivet pet pharmacy helped make its quarterly goal a reality.
Some new locations are strategically positioned in areas to serve the needs of farmers, animal owners, ranchers, gardeners, homeowners, and tradesmen
Tractor Supply backtracked on its DEI initiatives following 'disappointment' from its conservative customer base in 2024.
Fans have been concerned over the future of home improvement stores long before fears of a looming recession.
Home Depot and Lowe's both suffered significant sales drops last year amid high inflation.
Home Depot bounced back with a 9.4 percent revenue during the first quarter of 2025 and confirmed there would be no major price changes this year from tariffs.
Lowe's was not as lucky with a 1.7 percent revenue decrease, but it did earn the top spot in customer satisfaction among home improvement retailers by J.D. Power.
As for Tractor Supply, the chain's abundance of baby chicks has given shoppers a solution on what to do during the egg shortage.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
30 minutes ago
- The Independent
Billionaire Mark Walter, set to own controlling stake in Lakers, built fortune in investing
The billionaire slated to take over the controlling interest in the Los Angeles Lakers has built a career leading businesses investing in everything from sports franchises to artificial intelligence. Mark Walter is CEO of the global investment and advisory company Guggenheim Partners, which is estimated to have more than $325 billion in assets. He's also co-founder and CEO of holding company TWG Global. Forbes estimates Walter's net worth is $6.1 billion. The publication ranked him at No. 216 on its Forbes 400 list last year. Walter received an undergraduate degree in business administration from Creighton University and a law degree from Northwestern University, but ultimately chose business over a career in law. In the mid-1990s, he co-founded Liberty Hampshire, an investment management firm in Chicago. That business became part of Guggenheim Partners, which Walter co-founded in the late 1990s. In addition to Guggenheim, Walter co-founded TWG Global with film producer Thomas Tull. The company holds a portfolio of finance and insurance sector companies, including Guggenheim Investments, Guggenheim Securities, Group 1001 Insurance and Delaware Life. It also includes aerospace and defense technology company Shield AI. Last month, TWG Global announced a partnership with Palantir Technologies and Elon Musk's AI company, xAI, maker of Grok, aimed at developing artificial intelligence for use in the financial services industry. TWG Global also includes investments in sports, media and entertainment franchises, such as the controlling interest in the Los Angeles Dodgers, Premier League club Chelsea, the Professional Women's Hockey League and — through TWG Motorsports — ownership of several auto racing teams including Cadillac Formula 1. Beyond business, Walter and his wife, Kimbra, have founded or contributed to various philanthropic organizations, including the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation, the Academy Group, Chicago Beyond and OneGoal.
The Guardian
36 minutes ago
- The Guardian
The $10bn LA Lakers sale proves sports have outgrown billionaires
The sale of the Los Angeles Lakers is many things. First of all, it is a record. The glitziest team in basketball is changing hands at a valuation of $10bn, the biggest ever for a sports franchise. Second, it is probably an excellent deal for the buyer, even at that astonishing valuation. And third, the shift in majority ownership from the Buss family to an investment group led by Los Angeles Dodgers owner Mark Walter, is something else: inevitable. Sports teams are an eye-watering asset class. Not only does owning one confer countless perks and the kind of societal status that most money can't even buy, but team valuations in the major North American sports have been on a steep upslope for decades. The sale of the Lakers represents a new peak and is also the latest data point that illustrates a new fact about sports ownership. The best properties have become too valuable an asset class for people like Jeanie Buss to control them. Buss' father, Jerry, bought the team in 1979, and the Lakers have since then operated like one of the world's largest family businesses. The Lakers are by far the biggest source of the Buss family's wealth, and as ESPN reported on Thursday, the team has traditionally used its own revenues to pay its expenses. Its golden goose is an enormous local television deal with the LA cable provider Spectrum. The cable bundle is dying, however, and these days the biggest sports teams are increasingly owned not by wealthy individuals and families but by consortiums of deep-pocketed investors and institutions. The Lakers had already moved in this direction; the Buss family sold a quarter stake in the team to a group led by Walter in 2021. That same group – with Walter as the frontman, but by no means doing it alone – took control of the Dodgers in 2012 and later bought control of the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks. Blue-chip sports properties like the Lakers are now too big for even most billionaires to just reach into their pocket and by all alone. For that reason, leagues have gradually made it much easier for institutional investors to buy stakes in teams. (The NFL, with limits, has swung open the door to private equity.) The corollary to that trend is that when a longtime owner like Jeanie Buss has buyers lined up with enough liquidity to secure her family fortune in cash, rather than ownership of a team, she's likely to jump at it. The Lakers' new owners are likely to do very well on their investment. The decline of cable is a major threat to professional sports teams, and some smaller-market clubs in the NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball have taken substantial cash flow hits as regional carriers have faded. But the Lakers are so entwined with one of the world's largest cities that to bet against their continued growth is to bet against the future popularity of basketball, the city of Los Angeles and live entertainment altogether. Angelenos will not stop buying Lakers tickets and, even more critically, will not stop happily paying to watch 82 games per year, whether they're doing that on a streamer or traditional TV. The Lakers are too big to fail, and some time down the line, someone will value them at well more than $10bn. The sale will probably be good for Lakers fans, though they are not the priority in any transaction of this type. Walter's group has done wonders with the Dodgers, seizing on the franchise's natural advantages – a rabid fanbase and a location players want to play in – and turned the team into the most consistent winner in baseball. It is harder to flex a financial advantage in the NBA than in salary cap-less MLB, but Walter's Dodgers have become the team with the best reputation among ballplayers. Not that the Lakers have a hard time attracting stars, but one could imagine them attracting even more of the players they covet. At the end of the day, isn't that kind of product what fans want to see? While this will all likely go fine for the Lakers, the shift in ownership models does raise questions about what will become of sports teams that don't defy gravity by their very existence. Plenty of individual club owners have been massive flops who have earned the endless scorn of their clubs' fans. But the fact of having one highly visible, specific owner has at least rendered a version of accountability. After all, it's easier for Manchester United fans to chant 'Glazers out!' than it would be to chant 'shadowy consortium of institutional investors out!' A move toward large groups of investors controlling iconic teams will make it easier for individual actors to milk them for cash without facing the kind of public shaming that has long been possible for teams with more identifiable villains in the owner's suite. The Lakers are big enough and successful enough that this dynamic might never come to a head. Most teams can't say the same.
Coin Geek
44 minutes ago
- Coin Geek
60% of Fortune 500 firms pursue blockchain initiatives: report
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... A Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN) report has highlighted the trend of Fortune 500 companies turning their attention to blockchain to address specific pain points in their internal operations. According to the State of Crypto report, six out of 10 Fortune 500 companies are exploring the viability of blockchain-based solutions, with surveyed executives including the emerging tech in their short and medium-term objectives. One out of every five executives says blockchain is a part of the long-term plan of their company's operations, rising by an impressive 47% over the last year. While Fortune 500 companies show a large appetite for blockchain, small and medium-sized businesses also embrace the technology. 80% of surveyed respondents revealed that blockchain would assist in internal operations, particularly managing invoices and accounts receivable, leaning on smart contract automation and transparency features. Out of the respondents without active blockchain initiatives, 46% have unveiled plans to explore the technology within three years. The renewed interest is particularly impressive in the face of rising artificial intelligence (AI) adoption and the frantic race among corporations to integrate AI models into their operations. Fortune 500 companies and SMBs are eyeing the real-world use cases from blockchain integrations. Behemoths are particularly keen on the tokenization capabilities of blockchain, with financial sector players leading the charge in this regard. Both cohorts are turning to blockchain for its decentralized fundraising utility and use cases in real-time and cross-border payment functionality. Several factors are in play behind the growing institutional interest in blockchain. While government agencies have hinted at increased industry cooperation, large firms and small business operators have their eyes peeled on incoming U.S. legislation for digital assets. 'It's clear greater regulatory certainty is still required for the potential of crypto to be fully realized,' read the report. 'That's why passing market structure and stablecoin legislation is so critical to the future of crypto innovation in America.' Blockchain-based companies are on the rise Despite the surge in AI-focused companies, blockchain-based firms are recording impressive growth metrics in several jurisdictions. One report notes that blockchain-focused firms in cybersecurity have gained a 200% ROI, outperforming the returns earned by AI-based companies. In Southeast Asia, Hong Kong is spearheading the growth spurt of blockchain-based companies with its Cyberport initiative. Since its launch, 150 Web3 firms have set up shop in Cyberport, lured by the prospects of tax breaks, regulatory support, and a raft of government-backed incentives. Pakistan's digital asset minister wraps up US tour after a raft of policy meetings Pakistan is inching closer to its goal of becoming a regional digital asset powerhouse with its latest play involving cross-border collaboration for technological advancements. According to an X post, Pakistan's Minister of State Crypto & Blockchain, Bilal Bin Saqib, has met with U.S. regulators to gather ideas. During his cross-country tour, Saqib had sit-downs with leading proponents of digital assets in the U.S., including Senator Cynthia Lumis and New York City Mayor Eric Adams. 'From Capitol Hill to the White House, I shared a new face of Pakistan: one driven by youth, innovation and global partnerships,' said Saqib. The month-long tour saw Saqib advance Pakistani digital asset interests in the U.S., borrowing a page from the country's emerging regulatory playbook. In his meetings with key U.S. figures, Saqib revealed plans by the Pakistani government to set up its own Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, mirroring the executive order signed by President Donald Trump. In his meeting with the NYC Mayor, Saqib mooted the idea of a bilateral relationship between Pakistan and the Big Apple. Notably, the Pakistani Minister of State for digital assets revealed that the Asian country is willing to partner with New York in regulation and innovation. NYC and Pakistan have previously launched Crypto Councils, with Saqib pushing for policy advisory initiatives between entities. Apart from Senator Lummis and Mayor Adams, Saqib met with Senators Tim Sheehy, Jim Justice, Rick Scott, and Bill Hagerty in a series of meetings in Washington, D.C. Saqib took the time to reel out the progress made by Pakistan in its digital asset ambitions. Firstly, the Minister revealed key steps toward launching a robust digital asset regulatory framework in the country and plans to embrace stablecoins for remittances. Pakistan soldiers on toward full digitization To achieve its ambitions for digitization, Pakistan has launched a new regulatory body to oversee the digital assets sector. Dubbed the Pakistan Digital Asset Authority (PDAA), the newly minted watchdog will oversee the licensing of digital asset service providers and stablecoin issuers. The country is taking a leap with Bitcoin mining, using surplus energy to mine the digital currency. Furthermore, the digital transformation spree sees regulators expand digital wallet coverage for aid distribution, with national birth and death records turning to blockchain for accuracy and transparency. Watch | The Strategic Shift 2025 Highlights: Transforming industries with SaaS & blockchain title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen="">
