True Value Goes Kaput

A stalwart brand of independent hardware stores is acquired after bankruptcy filing

Bombshell news in the world of hardware retailing. True Value, a 75-year-old Chicago-based distributor, filed for bankruptcy protection in October and was quickly scooped up by home-improvement rival Do It Best.

The roughly 4,500 True Value stores across the U.S. are independently owned, so they’re not part of the Chapter 11 proceedings. Still, the Do It Best acquisition means store owners can conduct “business as usual” with limited supply-chain issues. To me, that’s another win for independent hardware stores.

Read about Winners and Losers of the True Value acquisition by Do It Best can be found in The Hardware Connection.