Hardware Wholesalers, Inc. → Do it Best Corp.

1945 – today

Founded: 28 June 1945, Fort Wayne. The company's current About history gives "Founding date: June 28, 1945, Founding location: Fort Wayne, IN," founded by Arnold Gerberding as Hardware Wholesalers, Inc. (HWI); the International Directory of Company Histories chain agrees on the exact day — Gerberding "left Auburn Hardware in 1945 and founded HWI on June 28, 1945" — and on Fort Wayne as the chosen location (Gerberding's home town and the region's rail and truck centre). Founding member count conflict, carried open in full: the company's current About history says Gerberding acted "along with 75 independent hardware and building materials dealers"; the Hardware Retailing 70th-anniversary account says 96 retailers attended the first shareholders meeting in 1945, and an incorporation-meeting account likewise gives 96 subscribers on 28 June 1945; the International Directory says the investments of 100 independent business owners in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. The exact founding membership cannot be fixed as a single number — 75 / 96 / 100 are three counts of plausibly different things (pledging dealers, meeting subscribers, investing owners) and are not merged here.

Founder: Arnold Gerberding (born Fort Wayne, 1900; Pfeiffer Hardware after high school; Auburn Hardware general sales manager 1943–45) — He retired 30 September 1967, with HWI at more than 600 members, and was succeeded by Don Wolf.

What it did: A member-owned cooperative for independent hardware, lumber and building-materials dealers — collective buying power, warehousing and distribution so independents could price with chains while remaining sole shareholders of their co-op.

Course: First warehouse facility opened 1948; a private truck delivery system followed in 1955 (International Directory / Wikipedia chain, agreeing). By 1980 HWI had members across the country and outside the United States (company history). In 1998 HWI combined/merged with Our Own Hardware (Minnesota) and changed its name to Do it Best Corp. — the Directory chain dates the official name change 16 March 1998. In December 2022 the world headquarters moved to the Electric Works campus in downtown Fort Wayne (company About; Building 26 in the Wikipedia account), the year it was described as Indiana's largest privately held company. In November 2024 Do it Best acquired True Value out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy — True Value filed 14 October 2024; Do it Best was the stalking-horse bidder at $153 million cash plus up to $45 million of assumed vendor liabilities (IBJ, 14 Oct 2024), and the purchase was completed 22 November 2024 (Webb Analytics completion account). In May 2025 Do it Best completed a merger with United Hardware, expanding membership by over 20% (company history).

Fate: Still operating. Headquartered in Fort Wayne at Electric Works; the company currently describes the Do it Best Group as the world's largest hardware/lumber/building-materials buying cooperative, with nearly $6 billion in annual sales, over 8,000 member locations in the U.S. and partners in more than 60 countries, ~3,000 employees and more than 12 distribution centres (company About, current at present — printed as the company's own current figures, not independently audited here).

Sources:

1. Do it Best, "About Us" (current company history: founded 1945 by Arnold Gerberding in Fort Wayne as HWI, with 75 dealers; founding date 28 June 1945; 1998 Our Own Hardware merger / rebrand; Dec 2022 Electric Works headquarters; Nov 2024 True Value acquisition; May 2025 United Hardware merger; current scale figures) — https://www.doitbest.com/global/about-us/
2. International Directory of Company Histories chain via ReferenceForBusiness (Gerberding biography; founded 28 June 1945; 100 independent owners; Fort Wayne location rationale; retired 30 Sept 1967 with 600+ members; name change dated 16 Mar 1998 in the Jrank mirror of the same history) — https://www.referenceforbusiness.com/history2/86/Do-it-Best-Corporation.html
3. Hardware Retailing special section via FreeLibrary (Gerberding door-to-door $1,000 pledges; 96 retailers at the first shareholders meeting in 1945) — https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Do+it+Best%3A+Helping+Retailers+Reach+New+Heights-a0592786302
4. Indianapolis Business Journal, 14 Oct 2024 (True Value Chapter 11 filing that day; Do it Best stalking-horse bid $153 million plus up to $45 million assumed liabilities) — https://www.ibj.com/articles/indiana-based-do-it-best-inks-agreement-to-acquire-true-value-assets
5. Webb Analytics, 22 Nov 2024 (Do it Best completes the True Value purchase, $153 million cash, creating an ~8,000-store co-op) — https://www.webb-analytics.com/post/do-it-best-completes-purchase-of-true-value-creating-6bln-8-000-store-powerhouse-co-op