Requiem for a hardware brand
First a co-op, then a distributor, then a division of World and Main, the entity formerly known as Handy Hardware Wholesale has had a roller coaster ride since 2010.
The journey seems to have finally come to an end with the sale of the World and Main (Houston) division to Hardware Distribution Warehouses. According to Jimmy Horne, VP of corporate communication for Greenwood, Mississippi-based HDW, none of the Handy Hardware brand, logo or name will be used in any way going forward.
The decade began in 2010 with Handy Hardware Wholesale stabled as an optimistic regional co-op with strength in Texas and surrounding states, a reputation for low prices and an ambitious plan to expand into the Southeast. During the co-op’s 2011 market in Houston, then-president Tina Kirbie described two bold initiatives: (1) A computer system conversion; and (2) the opening of the company’s new distribution center in Meridian, Miss.
Kirbie also looked ahead eagerly to the co-op’s 50th anniversary.
But instead of a bold expansion and celebration, Handy Hardware Wholesale hit growing pains, information technology issues and several new leaders in quick succession. Handy incurred more than $30 million of debt in connection with the building and operation of the distribution center, due to operational challenges and the industry downturn at the time of opening.
The distribution center closed in late 2012. And the company declared bankruptcy with hope of emerging later in the summer. That’s kind of what happened, but not as members had hoped. The company was purchased by Hardware Holdings, part of the Littlejohn & Company group. Handy survived as a distributor, but not as a co-op. And what was once $27 million in member equity in Class A and Class B shares was eventually wiped out.
The company named Doug Miller, a veteran from Spokane, Washington-based Jensen Distributing (now part of Ace Hardware), to take the reins with a focus on basic distribution and high fill rates. In 2014, Miller was replaced by Craig Cowart, who brought experience from Lowe’s, Marvin’s Building Materials and Home Centers, and Your Other Warehouse, a distributor owned by The Home Depot. Cowart will remain president of HDW Houston under the new management structure.
Under Littlejohn’s Hardware Holdings group, which later became World and Main, Handy Hardware was rebranded as World and Main (Houston). And with the HDW acquisition last week, the Handy Hardware saga appears to be at its end.
Key moments in recent Handy history
• December 2010: Meridian, Mississippi, distribution center opens.
• May 2011: Amid IT troubles, Kenneth White assumes CEO post
• December 2012: Meridian distribution center closes
• Jan. 2013: Handy Hardware files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
• July 2013: Doug Miller named CEO
• August 2013: Handy officially acquired by Hardware Holdings, the forerunner of World and Main. Craig Cowart tapped to lead Handy
• January 2016: the debut of the World and Main market, formerly the Handy Hardware market.
• November 2016: HDW acquires World and Main (Houston)