Tractor Supply will close roughly 75 of its Petsense pet store locations after executives concluded the shops could not cover their own rent, labor, and inventory costs, a move that has drawn sharp backlash from loyal customers who depend on the stores for grooming and everyday pet supplies.
CEO Hal Lawton delivered the news during Tractor Supply's second-quarter 2026 earnings call on July 23, framing the cuts as the result of a "disciplined review" of the Petsense subsidiary. The closures will wipe out more than a third of the chain's 209 locations, which span 23 states. Tractor Supply, the largest rural lifestyle retailer in the country, has not disclosed which stores will shut down or when the doors will close.
Lawton told investors the affected stores simply were not generating enough cash to justify staying open. The company plans to redirect that capital into its core Tractor Supply brand, including remodels, new store sites, and expanded delivery, rather than prop up a pet specialty chain that was bleeding money at the local level.
On the earnings call, Lawton laid out the rationale in corporate-speak that boiled down to a blunt admission: the stores lost money.
"Following a disciplined review of Petsense, we've decided to close approximately 75 underperforming stores. We believe these actions will improve returns, simplify the business, and allow us to direct resources towards higher growth, higher return opportunities."
He also revealed that Tractor Supply has scaled back its own expansion plans. The company now expects to open 85 to 90 new core stores in 2027, down from a previous target of 100. The freed-up capital will go toward what Lawton called "Project Fusion remodels" and "Final Mile delivery," though the company offered few details on either initiative during the call.
CFO Kurt Barton echoed the CEO's message, describing the closures as a "strategic repositioning" meant to create a "healthier, more profitable business" aligned with Tractor Supply's core operations. Neither executive addressed how many Petsense employees stand to lose their jobs or whether those workers would be offered positions at nearby Tractor Supply stores.
For corporate leadership, the math may add up. For customers in small towns across 23 states, many of whom chose Petsense precisely because alternatives were scarce, the closures land differently.
One Facebook user posted a reaction that captured the frustration. "Complete bs!!" the commenter wrote on the Sullivan Independent's Facebook page. "They have the best groomer around! My dog is scared of electric clippers and they hand-groom him every three weeks. He loves going there. What a bad management decision."
Another customer zeroed in on the grooming shortage the closures will deepen: "This [is] very disappointing. Our dogs are groomed here. It is very hard to find groomers accepting new clients."
Not everyone mourned. Some shoppers argued Petsense had priced itself out of the market. One commenter noted that the chain's prices ran so high that even its own employees shopped elsewhere: "Unfortunately I knew they wouldn't last... It's even bad when the employees would go other places to buy because with their small discount it didn't matter."
Another former customer was more concise: "They were way overpriced and had a terrible selection."
Tractor Supply has not released a list of the roughly 75 locations slated to close. The New York Post reached out to the company for that information but had not received a response by the time the story was published. That silence leaves customers and employees at all 209 Petsense locations guessing whether their store is on the chopping block.
The company also has not disclosed a timeline for the closures. Whether the stores will wind down over weeks or months, and what happens to existing inventory and grooming appointments, remains unanswered.
Tractor Supply's own core stores carry many of the same pet products that Petsense sells, food, treats, toys, and supplies, which raises an obvious question about how much overlap existed between the two brands in the first place. If the parent company already stocks the same shelves, the standalone pet chain may have been competing with itself in markets where foot traffic was never strong enough to support both.
The grooming services are another matter. Tractor Supply's core stores are built around farm equipment, livestock feed, and outdoor gear, not dog baths. Customers who depended on Petsense groomers in areas with few alternatives face a real gap that a remodeled Tractor Supply down the road will not fill.
When a corporation talks about "strategic repositioning" and "redeploying capital toward higher-return opportunities," the people left holding the leash in a town with one fewer option rarely feel the strategy working in their favor.