FILE - A Tractor Supply Company store sign is seen, Feb. 2, 2023, in Pittsburgh. The National Black Farmers Association is calling on Tractor Supply’s president and CEO to step down, days after the rural retailer announced that it would be dismantling an array of its corporate diversity and climate advocacy efforts.
Before the company’s announcement, conservative activists opposed to DEI efforts, sponsorship of LGBTQ+ events and climate advocacy had spent weeks criticizing Tractor Supply on social media. Tractor Supply said in its Thursday statement that it was making the changes after hearing from disappointed customers and took “this feedback to heart.”
NBFA said it made repeated attempts to discuss its concerns with Tractor Supply President and CEO Hal Lawton before calling for his resignation. Squirrelwood co-founder Beth Hyman said she first heard about the company’s decision when the sanctuary’s supporters reached out to ask if the group planned to make a statement about it. She thought about it for a day and then went to her local store to ask a manager whom she’s worked with for years about the announcement.
Allen Adamson, co-founder of marketing consultancy Metaforce, said the conservative pressure on Tractor Supply and the fallout from giving in was the “perfect example of how the increasing split in the country — politically and ideologically — have made it really hard to run consumer-facing businesses.”Consumers of all backgrounds are becoming more influenced by social media and choosing to redirect their spending if they feel like companies don’t align with their values, Adamson said.