How has your dealership recently been affected by Big Box competition and what changes have you made to stay competitive?

“Yes. Tractor Supply is putting stores all over our trade area. The closest is 7 miles away. They are selling 3-point attachments for tractors cheap and cutting into our disc repair parts business as well as the lawn mower parts some.

“The Big Box store image is that they are cheaper than anyone else. The fact is that often their price is higher than ours, especially on disc parts and blades. Their easy credit card terms encourage people to buy from them because they often can't get credit elsewhere. When they get behind on the payments though look out! The interest rate goes through the roof.

“They haven't hurt us as much as we thought they would. People are beginning to realize that they don't offer any service and they don't have the knowledge to help them figure out what they need to repair their own equipment. We combat them like we do everyone else, by pointing out that we've been here 62 years and we offer fair prices and service after the sale.”

— Harry Herrington, Jr., Herrington Equipment Inc., Meggett, S.C.