Tractor Supply Company Value Stock - Dividend - Research Selection

Tractor Supply Company (the “Company” or “we”) is the largest operator of rural lifestyle retail stores in the United States. The Company is focused on supplying the needs of recreational farmers and ranchers and others who enjoy the rural lifestyle (which we refer to as the “Out Here” lifestyle), as well as tradesmen and small businesses. We operate retail stores under the names Tractor Supply Company, Del’s Feed & Farm Supply and Petsense and operate websites under the names TractorSupply.com and Petsense.com. Our stores are located primarily in towns outlying major metropolitan markets and in rural communities. Tractor Supply Company has one reportable industry segment which is the retail sale of products that support the rural lifestyle. At December 31, 2016, we operated 1,738 retail stores in 49 states (1,595 Tractor Supply and Del’s retail stores and 143 Petsense retail stores). Our Tractor Supply stores typically range in size from 15,000 to 20,000 square feet of inside selling space, along with additional outside selling space and our Petsense stores have approximately 5,500 square feet of inside selling space. For Tractor Supply retail locations, we use a standard design for most new built-to-suit locations that includes approximately 15,500 square feet of inside selling space. Business Strategy We believe our sales and earnings growth is the result of executing our business strategy, which includes the following key components: Market Niche We have identified a specialized market niche: supplying the lifestyle needs of recreational farmers and ranchers and others who enjoy the rural lifestyle, as well as tradesmen and small businesses. By focusing our product assortment on these core customers, we believe we are differentiated from general merchandise, home center and other specialty retailers. We cater to the rural lifestyle and often serve a market by being a trip consolidator for many basic maintenance needs for farm, ranch and rural customers. Customers Our target customers are home, land, pet and livestock owners who generally have above average income and below average cost of living. We seek to serve a customer base that primarily lives in towns outlying major metropolitan markets and in rural communities. This customer base includes recreational farmers and ranchers and others who enjoy the rural lifestyle, as well as tradesmen and small businesses. Customer Service We are committed to providing our customers reliable product availability and a high level of in-store service through our motivated, well-trained store team members. We believe the ability of our store team members to provide friendly, responsive and seasoned advice helps our customers find the right products to satisfy their everyday needs as well as the specialty items needed to complete their rural lifestyle projects. We also engage with our customers through an e-commerce website (TractorSupply.com), which provides the opportunity to allow customers to shop at a time and place that fits their schedule while delivering enhanced product information, research and decision tools that support product selection and informational needs in specific subject areas. Additionally, we maintain a customer solutions center at our Store Support Center located in Brentwood, Tennessee to support our in-store and online customers as well as our store team members. We believe this commitment to customer service promotes strong customer loyalty and repeat shopping. We use a third party provider to measure our level of customer service. This process allows customers to provide feedback on their shopping experience. Based on the third party provider’s data, we believe our customer satisfaction scores to be among the best-in-class. We carefully evaluate the feedback we receive from our customers and implement improvements at the individual store level based on that feedback. Store Personnel and Training We seek to hire store team members with farming and ranching backgrounds, with particular emphasis on general maintenance, equine and welding. We endeavor to staff our stores with courteous, highly motivated team members and devote considerable resources to training store team members, often in cooperation with our vendors. Our training programs include: • a thorough on-boarding process to prepare new team members for their new role; • new store opening training that prepares new store managers to open stores to Company standards; • a management training program which covers all aspects of our store operations, delivering superior service and managing the team member experience; • structured training on customer service and selling skills; • online product knowledge training produced in conjunction with key vendors; • leadership development programs that prepare leaders to expand their current contributions; and • an annual store manager meeting with vendor product presentations. Store Environment Our stores are designed and managed to make shopping an enjoyable experience and to maximize sales and operating efficiencies. Stores are strategically arranged to provide an open environment for optimal product placement and visual display. In addition, these layouts allow for departmental space to be easily re-allocated and visual displays to be changed for seasonal products and promotions. Display and product placement information is routinely sent to stores to ensure quality and uniformity among the stores. Informative signs are located in key product categories to assist customers with purchasing decisions and merchandise location. These signs provide customers with a comparison of product qualities, clear pricing, useful information regarding product benefits, and suggestions for appropriate accessories. Our store layouts and visual displays are designed to provide our customers a feeling of familiarity and enhance the shopping experience. Also, our store team members wear highly visible red vests, aprons or smocks with nametags, and our customer service and checkout counters are conveniently located near the front of the store. Merchandising and Purchasing We offer an extensive assortment of products for those seeking to enjoy the Out Here lifestyle, as well as tradesmen and small businesses. Our product assortment is tailored to meet the needs of our customers in various geographic markets. Our full line of product offerings includes a broad selection of high quality, reputable brand name and exclusive brand products and is supported by a strong in-stock inventory position with an average of 16,000 to 20,000 products per store. No one product accounted for more than 10% of our sales during 2016. Our comprehensive selection of merchandise is comprised of the following major product categories: • Equine, livestock, pet and small animal products, including items necessary for their health, care, growth and containment; • Hardware, truck, towing and tool products; • Seasonal products, including heating, lawn and garden items, power equipment, gifts and toys; • Work/recreational clothing and footwear; and • Maintenance products for agricultural and rural use.