Orgill responds to True Value bankruptcy
True Value CEO Chris Kempa says it’s business as usual for True Value nation as it enters Chapter 11 and plans a sale to Fort Wayne, Indiana-based Do it Best. And Do it Best says it is eager to support the growth of more independent entrepreneurs.
Orgill would like to service more independent entrepreneurs, too. The Memphis-based distributor emphasized that point in a press release, after news of the blockbuster proposal of a True Value-Do it Best deal broke on Monday.
Orgill said it “will make every effort” to support True Value customers through any potential disruptions in their supply chain.
[Read Orgill's full statement here.]
Orgill CEO Boyden Moore said: “At Orgill, we have always championed the independent dealer. One thing that Orgill can offer to the thousands of True Value customers during these uncertain times is a pathway to stability in their future business relationships that would enable them to continue serving their communities without fear of any interruption.”
The statement emphasized Orgill’s experience with True Value dealers. In the past two years, Orgill executed more than 400 conversions of True Value retailers. Orgill has 65 conversions scheduled in the coming months. And it currently shares business with True Value at more than 800 stores.
“We have already routed every True Value store, both those we currently service and those that we don’t so we can be more responsive to these stores’ needs. And we have done an analysis of potential product and service demands so that we can be best prepared to onboard new accounts,” Moore says.
Orgill’s message of support to independent hardware retailers has many similarities to those that Do it Best delivered in its Monday announcement.
Do it Best’s message to the industry included a message of supply chain stability throughout the sale process. That message was amplified on Oct. 17, in press release under the headline: "Do it Best brings supply chain stability to industry."
The release includes: "Do it Best seeks to assure affected dealers that a stable and reliable solution, especially in the immediate term with drop ship orders, is already operating and ready to support all their product needs through a simple no-fee Do it Best application process that ensures ordering within 24 hours."
Meanwhile, the Hardlines Distribution Alliance entered the fray with a press release pointing to its ability to "assist dealers of all sizes."
Oak Brook, Illinois-based Ace Hardware Corp., the largest of the hardware distributors, declined an HBSDealer invitation to comment.
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