Hardware Retailing The Industry's Source for Insights and Information
Shaking up the independent industry and altering the landscape of the channel, it’s been one year since the bankruptcy of True Value and subsequent sale to Do it Best. During the last 12 months, the two companies have made strides to become one, integrating department after department in an effort to bring cohesion and growth to both sides. Do it Best and True Value CEO Dan Starr spoke with Hardware Retailing, reflecting on the last year and sharing what he wishes would have gone differently, what he’s most proud of and how the two companies will continue to drive growth and success together.
Looking Back on a Year of Shared Purpose
Hardware Retailing (HR): Reflecting on the last year, what are some of the things you would have done differently and why?
Dan Starr (DS): I will echo comments I made in front of our dealers during our Fall Market—I would do all of this again, in a heartbeat. Anything we wish that could have been different were all things out of our control, like True Value retailers experiencing the turmoil of bankruptcy. Do it Best was already innovating and evolving, which is why we were ready when that huge surprise hit our industry. I wish I could have spared everyone from the shock of the timing. I am so incredibly proud of how our teams, our members, our retailers, and our vendors bonded together to accomplish everything we have in the past 12 months. We’re going to end 2025 the strongest our company has ever been.
HR: How do you see the Markets evolving? Were you happy with how the 2025 Spring and 2025 Fall Markets played out
DS: Both Markets were amazing in their own ways, from the first combined event just four months into this process to the scale and unity we experienced in September. We are continuously evolving how we serve our dealers and make it easier for them to win at retail, and each Market is the opportunity to bring that work to life. These events are not just buying shows or corporate conventions—they are a reflection of our partnership with our 9,000 independent dealers.
HR: How has the consolidation of systems (ordering, warehouse management, etc.) been going? Have you set any goals in regards to consolidating systems?
DS: Consolidating systems is incredibly complex, and the impacts of any changes in these areas would be monumental for our stores. This work has been underway from the beginning and will continue to evolve as milestones are achieved. From pricing strategies to ordering systems and fulfillment, we’re optimizing for newfound scale and building long-term growth that directly benefits our dealers.
HR: How is department integration between the two companies coming along? How many departments are fully integrated?
DS: Many of our teams are integrated or already working together. We’ve been taking a phased approach prioritizing the needs of the business, as this transformation is about more than a simple corporate structure. Our teams are the extension of our stores—we are the daily support function for independent dealers around the world. With our teams working more closely now than ever before, we are the strongest partner in the industry. By early 2026, nearly all corporate teams will be integrated.
HR: Will you be making the True Value brands (EasyCare, GreenThumb, etc.) available to Do it Best retailers?
DS: All I can say right now is to stay tuned! We have exciting updates in the very short term about our go-forward plan for exclusive brands, including EasyCare, GreenThumb, Best Look and more. Similar to our overall brand strategy, we will have options that fit the store’s identity and market needs.
HR: With the new True Value advertising campaign, how are you balancing support for both brands?
DS: Each brand has its own strengths—and I’m not only talking about just two national brands. Our full range of retail marketing and branding options accounts for the store’s own brand, regional chains and Do it Best and True Value as global powerhouses. It’s up to the store to decide how they want to be branded based on what works best for their market, the business goals they’re trying to achieve, and their own identity. We are the only wholesale partner in our industry to offer the quality of brands and marketing programs we do, matched by the real independence to utilize them. Investment in each of those brands will naturally look a little bit different because they each serve their own purpose to drive success for our dealers.
HR: Will you be sharing the financials from True Value as you did the financials of Do it Best at the Fall Market?
DS: The Fall Market included our annual shareholders meeting for our cooperative members, and I do hope we will have more True Value retailers participating in the future. As for overall company financials, we are committed to sharing on a regular basis. At the end of Q1 FY2026, we shared the financials of that quarter, along with FY2025. That update included combined revenues, as well as any relevant specifics for each company. We’ll continue to share consolidated financials each quarter, and I do provide our stores a brief update each month.
HR: How have retailers handled having a True Value store(s) and a Do it Best store(s) in the same market? Have there been any issues with them moving from competitors to now being on the same team?
DS: Not at all. It has been remarkable to witness how our members and retailers already share tips, insights, best practices, product recommendations—you name it. They have been eager to support one another as independents in the home improvement channel. Our job continues to be prioritizing competitive differentiation for each brand, which is well underway as part of our overall brand and private label strategies.
HR: What do you see are the biggest items on your to-do list for the next 12 months?
DS: As the champion of independents, Do it Best and True Value remain centered on ensuring our independent retailers win. Our to-dos are all based on the needs of our stores right now and years in the future. The last year proved we can both meet the moment and make strategic moves to guarantee the success of the cooperative. I’m proud of the past 12 months, and I’m beyond excited for what we know we can achieve for our dealers in the next 12 months.
Retailers Weigh In
Throughout the last year, Hardware Retailing has been keeping a pulse on how retailers from both Do it Best and True Value are handling the transition. One year later, several of these retailers share their impressions on the progress made so far and their questions and challenges for the future.
For Bart Raser, president of Carr Hardware, a Do it Best member with six stores in Massachusetts and Connecticut, the year has been an exciting one, and he is optimistic about what the future holds for both companies.
“I think the brand acquisition is a good one for Do it Best, and I think it’ll be a good one for Carr Hardware,” Raser says. “Both companies have been thoughtful in terms of rolling out operations and communicating details of the rollout, and both are starting to take advantage of cost savings through the buying power that both companies bring to the table as one.”
Attending both the Do it Best and True Value Spring and Fall Markets, Raser says he heard many positive comments from both retailers and vendors that matched his sentiments.
“I’ve been in the industry for a long time, and it was really nice to hear all these vendors who we’ve had relationships with for so many years be excited to see Do it Best save the True Value brand,” Raser says.
From her perspective as a True Value retailer, Leah Nelson, owner of Caldwell True Value in Caldwell, Idaho, says she has been impressed with how quickly Do it Best was able to get operations up and running in a short amount of time.
“As a True Value retailer who was watching my inventory shrink and access to products disappearing, seeing that access come back online so quickly was shocking,” Nelson says “I didn’t think it could be done that quickly. The work Do it Best did to get us up and going was phenomenal.”
Nelson says she has also been impressed with how leadership from both companies has asked retailers, “How can we do this better?” and then has been open to listening and helping retailers see growth and find success. This commitment to retailers’ success was seen at both markets in 2025, but especially at the Fall Market, Nelson says.
“The Fall Market was cohesive and there was a positive energy True Value retailers hadn’t felt in awhile,” she says. “I was able to reconnect with other business owners across the country, which I find to be really helpful and inspiring.”
RJ & Helen McDaniel, owners of B&B Hardware in Milan, Illinois, say the additional buying opportunities and the exposure to thousands of new products that will come from the two companies working as one has been the biggest benefit.
“We really do feel joining platforms together at the corporate level can only strengthen teams like finance, marketing, sales and logistics in the long run, which in turn, make members like us stronger at the customer service level,” RJ says.
For Jimmy Orlandini, the Do it Best and True Value news wasn’t the biggest news to hit his operation in the last year. In January, the store he owns with his brother Rob, Altadena Hardware, was destroyed by the Eaton fires. Both Do it Best and True Value have been extremely helpful in aiding the Orlandinis and their store get back to fully operational. As his operation comes back, Orlandini says he is looking forward to the buying power and additional influence with national brands the two companies will bring working together.
“I’m also excited about having the True Value brand back on the national stage with the new marketing campaign,” he says. “The legacy of the True Value brand runs deep, and we look forward to continuing being a part of that legacy.”
Relieved that True Value was acquired by another hardware distributor and not another investment company, True Value of Rock Hill owner Jay Simpson has been encouraged by how quickly vendors are willing to do business with his store again.
Simpson’s store, which is located in Rock Hill, South Carolina, has received a new regional True Value representative, which has helped answer some of Simpson’s lingering questions.
“Since the merger, I have noticed an increase in warehouse inventory, fill rates and product variety in our regional Atlanta warehouse,” Simpson says. “I am more optimistic about product availability, which has been the biggest issue for our store.”
Samantha Post, marketing manager at T&M Hardware & Rental—a Do it Best member—says from her perspective, it still feels like two separate entities running independent of one another, but it’s too soon to tell.
“It seems like the co-op spent a good portion of the year wrapping their arms around the acquisition and figuring out the way forward,” Post says. “Members were offered a glimpse of the plan and path forward at the recent trade show, so I’ll reserve any judgment until Do it Best has had an actual full year executing their plan under the belt.”
Post says she values that communication from Do it Best has increased, especially for sharing project updates.
“This hasn’t always been the case, as I’ve felt we would only really get updates in-person at the markets every six months when they’d make announcements,” Post says. “There are more communications coming from the different departments about progress and announcements than before, so I’m appreciative of the additional transparency and can make better decisions about our businesses by being better in the know.”
T&M Hardware & Rental operates six locations in western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio, and four of those stores directly compete with True Value stores.
“Time will tell, but I do foresee where there will be overlaps in buying opportunities and technological advancements that could potentially make us less competitive against each other if we’re offering the same deals and availability, such as website capabilities and sale windows,” Post says. “But, that will force us to be more strategic and innovative with what we do to continue to grow our business in our own unique ways in order for both of us to survive in our communities.”
Recognizing that merging two companies is no easy task, Franklin Cloninger, general manager at Triangle True Value Hardware in Greenwood, South Carolina, says the condensed timeline made it difficult to develop a true merger plan that would take full advantage of the strengths of True Value as Do it Best took on the company. He says despite these challenges, Do it Best is leveraging the benefits of True Value to compliment Do it Best as a company and the members of both Do it Best and True Value.
As a True Value operation, Cloninger says there are several Do it Best stores already in his market but one is a lumberyard and the other focuses mainly on commercial accounts, so overall he sees their presence as a benefit.
“We all serve different segments of the market so it works out well,” Cloninger says. “I am grateful for how accommodating other Do it Best stores have been towards us. Additionally, with Do it Best being a co-op, their success is our success and vice versa.”
Cloninger is interested to hear more about the long-term strategic plans on supply chain integration and how they plan on maximizing the True Value brand in the months and years ahead.
“One of our stores is big into equipment rental. True Value had a huge and long-standing rental program,” Cloninger says. “How Do it Best plans to integrate these customers, ourselves included, is something I would like to learn more about.”
