Word: zang
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Every morning at 5, Barb Bakshis chugs some coffee and feeds her animals--including 30 sheep, 14 chickens and a horse--before slipping on heels and heading to the bank she co-owns. After work, she and husband Mike Zang, a 54-year-old boat salesman, stay up late doing chores on their 150-acre farm in Burlington, Wis. "Yes, I do this for enjoyment," says Bakshis, 43, and laughs. Former suburbanites, the couple bought their century-old farm in 1993 and are learning as they go. When they have questions about lamb birthing, they call their neighbors. And when...
Given the work required, hobby farming sounds a bit like hobby coal mining, but it turns out there are a lot of amateur sodbusters like Bakshis and Zang. Which is one reason TSC, based in Nashville, Tenn., expects sales to increase to $2 billion this year. In 2004 profits rose 10%, though in April quarterly net income fell. The company blamed higher costs. The stock, which has roughly doubled since 2003, tumbled briefly but recovered. "We have zeroed in on hobby farmers," says chairman Joe Scarlett. TSC has revived itself by expanding into exurban areas where there's a deepening...
...trip around Bakshis and Zang's home store in Burlington shows that TSC is clearly a sanctuary for the affluent lawn warrior. Horse-racing helmets are displayed near hummingbird feeders, and outdoor paint, in John Deere Green for antique tractor collections, fills the shelves. ATVs share the center aisle with shiny lawn mowers. Udder cream comes in pretty clover tins (women have discovered its charms for chapped lips), and lawn trinkets are the hot item for spring. In the pet center, an aluminum bin full of chirping baby chickens is adjacent to model plastic horses for the kids...
Bakshis and Zang like the fact that the store staff includes welders, farmers, horse owners and ranchers. "It's not only a hardware store but it's a farm store and a pet store," Bakshis says. She estimates that they spend about $3,000 a year at TSC. "It's a lifestyle. It's fun and frustrating and a lot of work--and very satisfying." And for the right kind of retailer, very profitable...
Well, as we know by now, a last-minute overture by CEO Bill Gates sent Zang back to his office and the two sides into testy weekend negotiations. But as we also know, those talks fell apart almost before they began, and by last Monday, Zang and his heavy briefcase were mounting those courthouse steps once again...