Do it Best Group is putting the strength of its cooperative to work at the 2026 Do it Best and True Value Fall Market, giving independent retailers access to stronger buying opportunities, new technology, leading brands, and expert support designed to help them compete and grow.

Underway at the Indiana Convention Center, the Market brings together thousands of members, vendors, and Do it Best Group team members to demonstrate how the company is using greater scale, stronger purchasing power, and shared capabilities to create practical advantages for the independent businesses that own the co-op. It also reinforces Do it Best Group’s commitment to the cooperative model and its belief that independent retailers are strongest when they have the resources of a larger organization behind them without giving up local ownership or identity.

That strength is reflected in Do it Best Group’s fiscal 2026 results: $5 billion in consolidated sales and a $132.9 million patronage distribution to member-owners.

“We believe in the co-op model because it works,” says Nick Talarico, Chief Operating Officer of Do it Best Group. “As this company grows stronger, so does our ability to create value for the independent businesses that own it. Our responsibility is to take that scale and turn it into better economics, better tools, and better opportunities for our members.”

Strong brands, shared co-op advantages

The Fall Market demonstrates how Do it Best Group is using greater scale to create stronger assortments, vendor programs, and selling opportunities for members.

On the Market floor, members can see those advantages firsthand through more than 700 attendance-exclusive VIP Deals and a 15,000-square-foot Planogram Zone featuring data-driven assortments designed to help retailers make better use of space and improve category performance.

Additionally, new and strengthened vendor relationships are helping members build more complete solutions for their customers, including outdoor living. Do it Best Group has announced an expanded partnership with Trex to give members access to the leading national brand and provide their members with stronger programs and broader assortments designed to help them become a destination for outdoor living projects.

By bringing together stronger brands, greater purchasing power, and broader market insight, Do it Best Group is giving members more ways to compete while preserving the local identity and flexibility that distinguish independent businesses.

Building a stronger paint program

Paint was also a major focus at Fall Market, where Do it Best Group outlined plans to build a stronger, more unified paint strategy across the cooperative.

Through its expanded relationship with Sherwin-Williams, Do it Best Group has protected member pricing from increases this season and next, helping members manage costs in a category where product performance, brand confidence, price point, and marketing all play an important role.

The company also announced a significant investment in EasyCare, which will become the private-label paint brand for all Do it Best Group members beginning in spring 2028. The new lineup will improve upon the current EasyCare offering with all-new paint formulas, more competitive price points, national advertising support, and training designed to help store teams sell with greater confidence.

The strategy gives members access to one stronger private-label paint program supported across the full co-op, while continuing to provide access to leading national brands. Together, the changes are designed to help independent retailers strengthen their paint offering and become a destination for paint projects in their local markets.

Technology that supports better retail decisions

At Fall Market, Do it Best Group is showcasing a growing suite of technology designed to support members across the customer journey—from connecting with shoppers before they enter the store, to strengthening the project conversation, to helping retailers make better decisions after the sale.

Members are previewing a new loyalty mobile app planned for early 2027 that extends the local store experience to customers’ phones, with product search, real-time availability, rewards, purchase history, fulfillment options, and mobile payments. A Best Rewards app will give independently branded stores access to the same capabilities while preserving their own identity.

Inside the store, members are getting an early look at HardwareIQ, an AI-powered solution developed in-house by Do it Best Group, designed to support the project conversations that set independent retailers apart. By helping associates quickly access useful product and project information, HardwareIQ is designed to strengthen the personal service customers expect from their local store rather than replace it.

After the sale, Retail Pulse gives members greater visibility into their business performance. Expanded at Fall Market to Do it Best and True Value members with compatible point-of-sale systems, the platform now includes SKU-level analysis that helps retailers identify opportunities across pricing, assortment, margin, and inventory productivity. Members and their territory sales managers can use those shared insights to identify opportunities and determine what actions to take next.

Together, the tools support a connected retail experience: helping members engage customers before they enter the store, provide stronger support during the project conversation, and use what they learn after the sale to make the next customer interaction even better.

Helping members put innovation to work

The Market floor features an all-new Innovation Hub that gives members a hands-on look at the tools and capabilities Do it Best Group is building to support their businesses. Live demonstrations and conversations with company experts give retailers the opportunity to explore how new technology works, ask questions, and better understand where it can fit into their day-to-day operations.

“Technology creates value when it helps a member serve a customer, make a better decision, or capture a sale,” Chief Information Officer Ken Widner says. “Our responsibility is to make these capabilities easier for our members to adopt, use, and scale with confidence. By combining practical tools with the guidance of our team, we put the strength of our co-op and our brands to work for independent retailers.”

About Do it Best Group

Headquartered in Fort Wayne, IN, the Do it Best Group is the world’s largest hardware, lumber, and building materials buying cooperative in the home improvement industry. We support thousands of independently owned locations across the United States and in more than 60 countries worldwide. Partners in the company have the flexibility to operate under the Do it Best, True Value, or their own local store identities, offering a diverse range of branding options to best serve their communities. For more information, visit doitbestonline.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.