Management at the Warsaw Quality Farm & Fleet Store received additional information Tuesday regarding the future of the local store.

According to Dan Wallen, inventory manager, their district manager stated that the local Tractor Supply Co. store will move to the current Farm & Fleet location at the corner of U.S. 30E and CR 325E. Local store managers are Michael Diedrich, Farm and Fleet, and Todd Patterson, TSC.

As was reported in the Jan. 3 Times-Union, the assets of Quality Farm Stores Inc. had been purchased by a joint venture including TSC, and all inventory would be liquidated. TSC planned to reopen 85 of the 153 Quality Farm & Fleet in mid-2002.

As part of the sale, Quality Farm & Fleet filed bankruptcy effective Dec. 31. Due to the bankruptcy, Farm & Fleet assets, including prior purchases, are frozen as of Dec. 31.

Items currently for sale in the store are owned by the new owners, the joint venture companies.

The end result to customers is that items purchased prior to Dec. 31 cannot be exchanged or returned for a refund, and gift certificates cannot be used at the local store.

Any adjustments or refunds, including gift certificates, from Farm & Fleet must be requested through normal bankruptcy procedures. Standard bankruptcy claim forms, available at the store, may be submitted to the bankruptcy court for consideration in the distribution of assets.

Wallen stated, "We apologize to our customers that it has to be handled this way, but our hands are tied due to the bankruptcy and the fact that the liquidators now own the store."

Local TSC management has not yet received any updates to the original announcement, and was unaware of the plans to make the Farm & Fleet building a TSC store. TSC headquarters' personnel in Tennessee would comment only that "no additional information is available." [[In-content Ad]]