Historically True Value was a cooperative owned by retailers,[7] but in 2018 it was purchased by ACON Investments.[8] In October 2024, True Value filed for bankruptcy and competitor Do it Best agreed to purchase the company.[5] The purchase was completed in November 2024.[9] The independent retailers True Value supplied, branded as "True Value", are not part of the bankruptcy and will continue operating.[5]
History
True Value Company was originally composed of four hardware cooperatives and a hardware wholesaler: American Hardware & Supply (ServiStar), Coast to Coast Corporation, Cotter & Company (True Value), and Hibbard Spencer Bartlett & Company.
Cotter & Company was established in 1948 by John Cotter with 12 original member stores. The cooperative grew in membership and in 1962 Cotter & Company purchased the assets of Hibbard Spencer Bartlett & Company (formerly led by Adolphus C. Bartlett) for $2.5 million, acquiring the True Value trademark for $2500 as part of the acquisition. ServiStar Hardware (formerly American Hardware Supply) had previously purchased Coast to Coast Hardware and had renamed itself to Servistar & Coast to Coast Hardware. Their hardware stores were operating under either ServiStar or Coast to Coast retail identities. In 1997 they merged with Cotter & Company to form TruServ Corporation.[10]
During a 1999 audit, accounting irregularities of about $100 million were discovered originating from pre-merger Cotter & Company, leading to a $131 million loss that year causing the value of TruServ stock to plummet. During this period (1999–2001), a number of hardware stores chose to leave TruServ to join competing hardware cooperatives including Ace Hardware and Do It Best. TruServ Corporation brought in new management, eliminated the ServiStar and Coast to Coast brand names, and streamlined operations by closing many of the regional distribution centers. In 2006 TruServ Corporation was renamed True Value Company.
In July 2017 True Value was offered for sale, and competitor Ace Hardware expressed interest in purchasing it.[11] Eventually, in 2018, international private equity investment firm, ACON, purchased True Value.[8]
In 2019 True Value announced a new 1.4 million square foot facility, set to open that fall, intended to service approximately 1,000 stores located in Hanover Township, Pennsylvania. Along with the new distribution center True Value also adopted the "hub-and-spoke" model.[12]
On November 1, 2022, True Value acquired the Agway Trademark from Agway Farm & Home Supply.[13]
On October 14, 2024, True Value filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as it continued to face liquidity challenges caused by inflation and rising interest rates. The company agreed to sell itself to competitor Do It Best for $153 million.[14] The purchase was completed in November 2024.
General Paint & Manufacturing
True Value owns General Paint & Manufacturing (GPM), a paint manufacturing plant, and supplies paint to other companies. The facility manufactures latex paints, oil based paints, stains and aerosols exceeding 7,300,000 gallons annually. GPM also manufactures a complete line of jansan/cleaning chemicals.[15]
House brands
True Value's house brands, including Green Thumb, Master Electrician, Master Plumber, Lawn Chief and Master Mechanic, are manufactured by many different suppliers to company specifications.
Rona, Inc. is a Canadian retailer of home improvement and construction products and services, owned by U.S.-based private equity firm Sycamore Partners. Founded in 1939, the company operates a mixture of company-owned and franchised retailers under multiple banners, including Rona, its big box formats Rona Home & Garden, Rona+, as well as smaller brands such as Rona Cashway, Moffatt & Powell and Dick's Lumber.
A retailers' cooperative is a type of cooperative which employs economies of scale on behalf of its retailer members. Retailers' cooperatives use their purchasing power to acquire discounts from manufacturers and often share marketing expenses. A retailers' cooperative is essentially a group of independently owned businesses that pool their resources to purchase in bulk, usually by establishing a central buying organization, and engage in joint promotion efforts. It is common for locally owned grocery stores, hardware stores, and pharmacies to participate in retailers' cooperatives.
Ace Hardware Corporation is an American hardware retailers' cooperative based in Oak Brook, Illinois, United States. It is the largest non-grocery retail cooperative in the United States.
Hardware stores, sometimes known as DIY stores, sell household hardware for home improvement including: fasteners, building materials, hand tools, power tools, keys, locks, hinges, chains, plumbing supplies, electrical supplies, cleaning products, housewares, tools, utensils, paint, and lawn and garden products directly to consumers for use at home or for business. Many hardware stores have specialty departments unique to its region or its owner's interests. These departments include hunting and fishing supplies, plants and nursery products, marine and boating supplies, pet food and supplies, farm and ranch supplies including animal feed, swimming pool chemicals, homebrewing supplies and canning supplies.
Craftsman is a line of tools, lawn and garden equipment, and work wear. Originally a house brand established by Sears, the brand is now owned by Stanley Black & Decker.
Ben Franklin is a chain of five and dime and arts and crafts stores found primarily in small towns throughout the United States, currently owned by Promotions Unlimited of Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin. They are organized using a franchise system, with individual stores owned by independent proprietors. It was perhaps the first retail franchise, starting in 1927. They are named after Benjamin Franklin, taking a cue in their merchandise offerings from Franklin's saying, "A penny saved is a penny earned."
Kesko Corporation is a Finnish retailing conglomerate with its head office in Kalasatama, Helsinki. It is engaged in the grocery trade, building and technical trade, and car trade. It also has operations in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland.
Newell Brands Inc. is an American manufacturer, marketer and distributor of consumer and commercial products. The company's brands and products include Rubbermaid storage and trash containers; home organization and reusable container products; Contigo and Bubba water bottles; Coleman outdoor products; writing instruments glue ; children's products ; cookware and small appliances and fragrance products.
Murray was an American company whose assets are now owned by Briggs & Stratton and Pon Holdings. The corporate brand is a descendant of the Murray Ohio Manufacturing Company, which manufactured bicycles and lawn and garden equipment. The company went bankrupt in 2005 selling most of its assets to Briggs & Stratton and Pacific Cycle.
C&S Wholesale Grocers, LLC is a national wholesale grocery supply company in the United States, based in Keene, New Hampshire. In 2021 it was the eighth-largest privately held company in the United States, as listed by Forbes. C&S operates and supports corporate grocery stores and serves independent franchisees under a chain-style model throughout the Midwest, South and Northeast. C&S owns the Piggly Wiggly grocery brand, which is independently franchised to store operators, the Grand Union supermarkets brand, as well as several private label brands, including Best Yet.
E. J. Korvette, also known as Korvette’s, was an American chain of discount department stores, founded in 1948 in New York City. It was one of the first department stores to challenge the suggested retail price provisions of anti-discounting statutes. Founded by World War II veteran Eugene Ferkauf and his friend, Joe Zwillenberg, E. J. Korvette did much to define the idea of a discount department store. It displaced earlier five and dime retailers and preceded later discount stores, like Walmart, and warehouse clubs such as Costco.
Stedmans V&S is a Canadian variety discount department store chain.
Coop Norge is a Norwegian cooperative. It is owned by 117 local cooperatives with approximately 2 million members. The company has its headquarters in Oslo.
Thom McAn is an American brand of shoes and was formerly a retail chain. Its shoes have been sold in Kmart and Sears stores. It consists of leather-dress, casual, and athletic shoes. Until the 1990s, Thom McAn had hundreds of retail stores in the US, and was one of the oldest and best-known shoe retailers in the country. As of late 2008, the brand was controlled by Sears Brands, LLC.
Orchard Supply Hardware (OSH) was an American retailer of home improvement and gardening products. Headquartered in San Jose, California, Orchard Supply Hardware had dozens of locations throughout California, with expansions into Oregon and Florida.
Sears Holdings Corporation was an American holding company headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. It was the parent company of the chain stores Kmart and Sears and was founded after the former purchased the latter in 2005. It was the 20th-largest retailing company in the United States in 2015. It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on October 15, 2018, and sold its assets to ESL Investments in 2019. The new owner moved Sears assets to its newly formed subsidiary Transformco and after that, Sears Holdings Corporation was closed.
Metcash Limited is an Australian wholesaler and conglomerate company that distributes food, liquor and hardware. The company is headquartered in Macquarie Park, NSW.
Agway of DeWitt, New York, was an American agricultural business that offered feed for livestock and poultry, as well as seed, fertilizers, and herbicides.
Central Grocers Cooperative, founded in 1917 as Central Wholesale Grocers, was a retailers' cooperative based in Joliet, Illinois, near Chicago. It distributed both brand name and private label goods branded as Centrella and Silver Cup Value Buy to about 400 member-owner grocery stores in Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin.
The retail format influences the consumer's store choice and addresses the consumer's expectations. At its most basic level, a retail format is a simple marketplace, that is; a location where goods and services are exchanged. In some parts of the world, the retail sector is still dominated by small family-run stores, but large retail chains are increasingly dominating the sector, because they can exert considerable buying power and pass on the savings in the form of lower prices. Many of these large retail chains also produce their own private labels which compete alongside manufacturer brands. Considerable consolidation of retail stores has changed the retail landscape, transferring power away from wholesalers and into the hands of the large retail chains.
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US$1.488 billion (2017) [3] 
US$ 40.16 million (2017)
