Slide show: Do it Best’s 70th Anniversary Market

Fort Wayne, Indiana-based Do it Best Corp. celebrated its 70th anniversary with 70 buy-one-get-one offers at its regular Sneak Peek event, smoothing the way to a single-night sales figure of $6 million.

Other highlights at the Do it Best May market, held at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, include a bevy of new programs.

Even by our own high standards, we are particularly excited about this market and the many growth opportunities it presents our members,” said Do it Best Corp. president and CEO Bob Taylor. “Of course, celebrating our 70th anniversary gives us a chance to reflect on how far we’ve come as a co-op, while announcing these new programs helps our members capture the many opportunities ahead of them.”

Programs launched or enhanced by Do it Best Corp. at the May market include:

• E-commerce: Members are now able to sign up for their own customizable ecommerce website, supported by the powerful new doitbest.com platform.

• Industrial/commercial: The industry-leading INCOM Distributor Supply division launched its new Do it Best INCOM Supply program, which focuses on offering its expanded product selection and market expertise to drive greater industrial/commercial sales opportunities for traditional retail hardware stores, home centers and lumberyards who may not have been in the category previously.

• Store expansion: The Retail Performance program introduced enhanced incentives to drive store growth, with customizable solutions for existing members looking to expand into new locations.

The company began in Fort Wayne, Indiana, as Hardware Wholesalers Inc. in June 1945. Since its founding -- and its 1998 combination with Our Own Hardware to create Do it Best Corp. -- the co-op is on track to surpass $3 billion in sales this fiscal year and serves 3,800-plus member-owned locations in the United States and 54 other countries.