“Everyone seems to be in favor of the merger,” said one hardware hunk dealer about Do It Best’s acquisition of United Hardware.
Earlier this week, United Hardware and Do It Best announced their intention to merge.
“We believe deeply in the power of the co-op model. It’s about partnership, mutual growth, and shared success,” said Dan Starr, president and CEO of Do It Best.
Do It Best said the merger is expected to deliver significant benefits to member owners, employees and customers through increased scale, efficiency and innovation.
“We are excited to partner with the Hardware Hank brand,” said Chad Luce, president and CEO of United Hardware, home of the Hank Hardware brand.
HBSDealer randomly contacted several retail hardware store dealers across the country to get their thoughts on this move. Here are some of those thoughts:
From CJ, a Do it Best dealer in the southern United States:
“It’s great for all of Do it Best’s existing members. Do It Best now has more buying power and can lower the cost of their products, which helps the co-op as a whole. Add another warehouse This increases rebates and also allows us to add more inventory to new and old products in our existing warehouses.”
From DO, the Midwest’s new hardware hunk dealer:
“We have some concerns about the Do it Best POS system as we head into the busy season, but everyone seems to agree with this merger and we expect to see improvements when it comes to purchasing and transactions.”