Tractor Supply store ready for business

A new local Tractor Supply Company store is geared up and ready for business.

The Fort Scott location of the retail farm and ranch store chain, which is headquartered in Brentwood, Tenn., recently finished moving into the old Wal-Mart building at 2400 S. Main St. Store manager Casey Crum said there are currently plans to conduct a grand opening event for the business in mid-June after the annual Good Ol' Days celebration.

"I think we'll have some fanfare out here," Crum said of the store's grand opening. "We're talking about maybe getting some antique tractors out here. And there will be some representatives here to talk about various agriculture equipment."

The business will occupy about one-third, or about 25,000-square-feet, of the 78,000-square-foot building that Wal-Mart vacated about a year ago when the company moved into a new supercenter located just south of the building's previous location. Tractor Supply Company will eventually employ between 10 and 20 people, Crum said.

Crum added that he thinks the business will fare well since it will be situated in a good location within a rural, agricultural community.

"I think it will be a great marriage between Tractor Supply Company and Fort Scott, I really do," he said.

Tractor Supply Company sells equipment, clothing, and other products related to agriculture and the rural lifestyle, including pet supplies, animal feed, power tools, riding mowers, and a variety of lawn and garden products.

It is not currently known what will occupy the remaining space inside the old Wal-Mart building, which is owned by PK Capital, a St. Louis, Mo.-based company that purchased the facility from Wal-Mart last May. PK Capital specializes in buying, resetting, and repurchasing recently vacated buildings. The company usually sets up businesses in markets with population bases similar to that of Fort Scott.

In March 2007, PK officials determined that two retailers, a farm and supply company, and a discount women's clothing store would move into the old Wal-Mart building. It could not be confirmed whether there are still plans for the latter business to move into part of the building.

Tractor Supply Company is the largest retail farm and ranch store chain in the United States. The company, founded in 1938 as a mail order tractor parts business, now operates more than 750 retail stores in 40 states, and employs more than 10,000 people. The company's stores are primarily located in rural areas and suburbs of major cities, according to the company Website, www.tractorsupply.com.