Hardware Retailing The Industry's Source for Insights and Information
Do it Best Group used its 2026 Fall Market to move the integration of Do it Best, True Value and United Hardware into its next phase, inviting True Value retailers to become full members of the cooperative while rolling out shared assortments, technology tools and programs intended to serve retailers across its brands.
The company reports that hundreds of True Value retailers in the western U.S. have already signed on as Do it Best Group members, with recruitment moving east as distribution integration progresses. At Friday’s market kickoff, executives also detailed work that has included reviewing more than 40,000 SKUs, combining assortments and investing in technology designed for independent retailers.
COO Nick Talarico says bringing Do it Best, True Value and United Hardware together is intended to create greater scale and efficiency while giving the combined company more resources to invest in programs that improve retailer profitability.
“We have a larger membership, we have a stronger distribution network, we have lower costs and we have the ability to invest more,” Talarico says. “Do it Best Group only wins if our members win.”
Chief merchandising officer Jason Stofleth says the integration work contributed to a $35 million improvement in cost of goods over the previous year. The market featured VIP deals on more than 700 SKUs, 500 planograms covering nearly 600 linear feet, 40 new Category Solutions and Customized True Blue planograms and 800 pallet specials. For the first time, assortments were available across retail brands.
The integration was visible on the market floor, where previously separate Do it Best and True Value planogram areas were combined into one Planogram Zone, making assortments available across both retail brands.
Stofleth also announced that EasyCare will become the group’s private-label paint line in across the Do it Best Group starting spring 2028, replacing Best Look with new formulas, price points, training and national advertising support.
During the Do it Best Group Shareholders Meeting, CEO Dan Starr put those initiatives against an economic backdrop that continues to challenge home improvement spending, particularly on larger discretionary projects.
“We’re still searching for a new normal since the end of COVID,” Starr says. “Maybe this is it.”
Despite those pressures, Starr pointed to the co-op’s performance and continued investment as reasons for confidence. For more about Do it Best Group’s financial performance, see this article about their FY 2026.
“We believe that target strikes a good balance between providing you with a predictable annual patronage dividend that you can plan on, while ensuring that we continue to invest in the future,” he says. “And that is important to us because we’re not going anywhere.”
True Value Retailers Weigh Co-op Membership
Do it Best Group is actively inviting True Value retailers to join the cooperative, beginning in the West before moving through the northern Plains and eventually the East Coast.
Joining the co-op does not require a True Value retailer to change its store identity. Retailers can remain under the True Value banner, adopt Do it Best branding or maintain an independent identity.
“First question is, we want you to become a member. Will you become a member?” Talarico says. “Second question is, what flag are you going to fly? It doesn’t matter to us anymore.”
Membership costs $1,000, according to Talarico, and new members operate under the same rules as existing Do it Best members, with patronage distributions tied proportionately to purchases.
Retailer reaction at the market ranged from enthusiasm to a wait-and-see approach.
Justine Roths of Damariscotta Hardware in Damariscotta, Maine, says her company, which operates two Do it Best-branded stores and is bringing on a third True Value-branded location, supports the direction.
“I’m 100% on board and very excited,” Roths says. “I think it’s great that they’re starting to align the SKUs and make it a more consistent program across both.”
Christopher Tuttle of Village Variety Hardware in Unadilla, New York, also sees benefits from the combination, particularly in distribution and purchasing.
“I think their buying power is going to be stronger and our pricing is going to be better,” Tuttle says.
Robert Ashley of Triple A Building Center in Massena, New York, a Do it Best member since 1992 and former nine-year Do it Best board member, acknowledged that integration brings change.
“Change is good. Change has to happen,” Ashley says. “If we’re all working for each other, that’s what has to take place. So we have to get on the same playing field.”
From the Leadership: ‘Still Is Not a Strategy’
At the Shareholders Meeting, Do it Best Group board chair David Sturdivant framed the integration around the cooperative’s responsibility to strengthen independent retailers while preserving their ability to run their businesses as they see fit.
“We want support, scale, tools and buying power, but we also want the freedom to make the decisions that are right for our own business,” Sturdivant said.
He acknowledged that combining the organizations has required difficult decisions and said more work remains.
“We also know that standing still is not a strategy,” Sturdivant said. “The opportunity in front of us is to build a company that is stronger, more capable and better positioned to help independent retailers succeed on their own terms.”
Look for an upcoming NHPA Q&A with Sturdivant later this week.
During a fireside chat as part of the Shareholders Meeting, Starr encouraged retailers to view their purchases through the co-op as an investment in a company they own.
“This is your company,” Starr says. “The scale that we can leverage gets a lot better if you do those things. And I think that’s just part of the compact or the covenant that we have with our members. We need to be good stewards of that investment. You need to hold us accountable. We need to be doing what’s in your best interest.”
Starr summed up the message: “Don’t buy from us. Buy from you.”
Woodstream Departure Creates Questions
Retailers were also digesting Woodstream Brands’ decision to discontinue supplying Do it Best and other wholesalers, affecting familiar products such as Victor mouse traps and TERRO pest-control products.
A Do it Best spokesperson says its merchandising team has positioned additional inventory for the winter season and has alternatives in place for a large majority of the affected assortment. Updated Category Solutions for rodenticide and insect and pest control were on display at the market.
Retailers indicated the impact could vary considerably by store.
Christopher Peterson of C&M Lumber Co., New Meadows, Idaho, expects to shift business to existing suppliers.
“For our pest control and mousetraps, we’re already carrying a lot of different brands, so we’re going to fill up and carry more from those vendors,” Peterson says.
Technology Moves to the Store Level
Technology was another major theme, with Do it Best Group showing retailers HardwareIQ, Retail Pulse and a consumer e-commerce and loyalty app scheduled for spring 2027.
Chief information officer Ken Widner described HardwareIQ during Friday’s kickoff as an AI-powered employee assistant that connects with store information to help associates locate products, check inventory and guide customers through projects.
“HardwareIQ will never replace the knowledge in your store,” Widner says. “But it can help more of your team access that knowledge when the customer needs it most.”
Do it Best anticipates a full launch later this fall, with future capabilities planned for ordering, task assignment and training.
Roths is among the retailers interested in trying it.
“I love what they’re doing with the software,” she says. “I’m hoping to be one of the beta stores for HardwareIQ. I’d love to get that into the hands of my staff.”
Retail Pulse, meanwhile, is being expanded to Do it Best and True Value members with compatible POS systems. Vice president of sales and business development Eric Lane says during the kickoff that one Northern California retailer using the system identified opportunities that resulted in a 22% lift in gross margin and 5% increase in overall sales.
“Your data. Our support. And one shared view of the opportunities that can help you grow,” Lane says.
LBM Focus Expands
The market also brought several developments for lumber and building materials dealers, including an expanded relationship with Trex and increased access to Central States products.
Vice president of lumber and building materials Russ Kathrein encouraged members to think beyond individual product categories when pursuing outdoor-living sales.
“Your customer does not think in categories,” Kathrein said during Friday’s kickoff. “They think about the space and so should you.”
The LBM area demonstrated the approach with a complete outdoor setting combining decking, railing, fasteners, lighting, furniture, a pergola and an outdoor kitchen.
Read NHPA’s full report on the Do it Best Group LBM Update from the 2026 Do it Best Fall Market for more on Trex, Central States, commodity conditions and new dealer programs here.
Retailers Hunt for Products and Ideas
Retailers also used the market to fill assortment gaps and scout new categories.
The market brought retailers relatively new to Do it Best Group, including some that recently moved from other industry suppliers.
Noble’s Hardware made the switch to Do it Best in June. Ian Yorks says he attended the spring market in Denver while evaluating Do it Best as the company plans a new location with a strong lumber and building materials component.
“What I found was an overall culture at Do it Best that I think is a better fit for our stores in general, including our existing locations,” Yorks says.
Leonard Witt of Home & Auto in Monett, Missouri, focused on battery-powered outdoor equipment during the Power Preview including Greenworks and STIHL.
Tuttle plans to expand propane and gas-line products, electrical and pet accessories and add cast-iron skillets. Roths was interested in Railer mini toolboxes for the holidays and the return of Mod Podge to Do it Best warehouses.
SPAX representative Tom Wylie says retailer traffic was strong from the start Saturday morning, with particular interest in cabinet, window, deck and framing screws.
For retailers, the market also reflected how the buying process itself is changing. Ashley says advance ordering gives attendees more time to explore products and meet with vendors instead of spending much of the show writing orders.
“You can buy prior to the show, get your orders all in,” Ashley says. “So it’s really meet and greet and see new products.”
