Do It Best Corp., formerly known as Hardware Wholesalers, Inc. (HWI), is a member-owned hardware, lumber, and building materials

cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

based in

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...

. Do it Best Corp. is the second-largest co-op in the industry approaching $4 billion in annual sales. Do it Best Corp. does not mandate store identities, so member-owners may or may not display the Do it Best brand name in their businesses.

History

HWI was founded by Arnold Gerberding in 1945 in Fort Wayne, Indiana, with the investments of 100 independent business owners in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. Gerberding used the

co-op A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

model so HWI members could get better volume pricing from vendors by buying together rather than on their own. Independent hardware stores became members of the cooperative and its sole shareholders as well. The first warehouse facility opened in 1948, and HWI added a private truck delivery system in 1955. When Gerberding retired in 1967, HWI had more than 600 members and is approaching $4 billion in annual sales. Don Wolf succeeded Gerberding and opened HWI's first distribution center outside of Fort Wayne in

Cape Girardeau, Missouri Cape Girardeau ( , french: Cap-Girardeau ; colloquially referred to as "Cape") is a city in Cape Girardeau and Scott Counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. At the 2020 census, the population was 39,540. The city is one of two principal citie ...

. Today, there are eight centers located across the US as well as five regional lumber offices. Mike McClelland succeeded Don Wolf as president in 1992. During his tenure, the co-op expanded internationally, primarily in Central and South America and the Caribbean. In 1998, HWI combined with Our Own Hardware, a Minnesota-based regional co-op. As a result of the merger, HWI changed its name to Do it Best Corp. In 2002, Bob Taylor, a former member-owner with stores in

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

, took over as president and CEO and has led the company into new markets supporting commercial/industrial and web-only businesses until his retirement in January 2016. Taylor embraced the pace of technology development and change at Do it Best Corp. Following Taylor’s retirement in early 2016, Dan Starr became the company’s fifth president and CEO. Do it Best Corp McDaniel's Do it Center Exterior

Do it Best Corp McDaniel's Do it Center Exterior

References

{{Reflist

External Links

Do it Best Corporate WebsiteDo it Best Retail Website
Hardware stores of the United States Retailers' cooperatives in the United States American companies established in 1945 Retail companies established in 1945 Organizations established in 1945 Companies based in Fort Wayne, Indiana Companies based in Indiana Allen County, Indiana 1945 establishments in Indiana