Do it Best
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| Retailers' cooperative | |
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1945 as Hardware Wholesalers, Inc. |
| Headquarters | Fort Wayne, Indiana |
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Number of locations
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Over 3,800 across the US and 54 countries [1] |
| Products | 67000[1] |
| Revenue | $2.998 billion[1] |
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Number of employees
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1,445 [1] |
| Slogan | "Making the best even better". |
| Website | doitbest.com |
Do it Best Corp., formerly known as Hardware Wholesalers, Inc. (HWI), is a member-owned hardware, lumber, and building materials cooperative based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Do it Best Corp. is the second-largest co-op in the industry with sales of $2.998 billion in FY 2015. 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 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 $35 million in sales.
Don Wolf succeeded Gerberding and opened HWI's first distribution center outside of Fort Wayne in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Today, there are eight centers located across the US. Wolf also launched the Do it center® store design concept, which aimed to modernize the hardware shopping experience with more consumer-friendly colors and signage.
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 , took over as president and CEO and has led the company into new markets supporting commercial/industrial and web-only businesses.
