True Value

True Value's roots trace to Cotter & Company, a wholesale buying cooperative founded in January 1948 in Sycamore, Illinois, by John Cotter together with twelve independent hardware dealers who pooled purchasing power against larger chains — the co-op initially represented 25 independently owned stores. The True Value brand itself dates to 1932 and came under Cotter's control in 1963, when it acquired Hibbard, Spencer, and Bartlett, the firm that held the trademark. On 1 July 1997, Cotter & Company merged with ServiStar Coast to Coast Corporation to form TruServ Corporation, consolidating several regional hardware co-ops under one banner and eventually supporting more than 10,500 independently owned retailers across the United States and dozens of other countries. Individual True Value stores remain independently owned and operated by local proprietors, who buy inventory through the cooperative rather than through a centrally owned corporate chain — the structural feature that distinguishes it from big-box hardware competitors. In November 2024, True Value was acquired by Do it Best, another retailer-owned hardware cooperative, folding its dealer network into the larger organization.