54-year-old Home Depot rival closes store, no bankruptcy

Retailer-owned hardware cooperatives True Value Hardware and Ace Hardware have struggled to compete with the giant home improvement retailers Home Depot, Lowe's, and Amazon, and in some cases, their chain stores have lost the battle and closed businesses.Home Depot dominated the home improvement sector with 28% of the market in 2025, with Lowe's capturing 17% of the market's sales, and Amazon generating 11% of the sector's sales, according to the Numerator Home Improvement Tracker.Economic issues, such as the expansion of e-commerce, declining traffic, rising costs driven by inflation and tariffs, and unaffordable rent rates, have forced smaller hardware retailers out of business.

Harpeth True Value Home Center is closing its Franklin, Tenn., store.Shutterstock Harpeth True Value closes store And now, iconic hardware chain store Harpeth True Value Home Center announced on its Facebook page that it will close permanently on April 1, 2026.And that's no April Fool's joke."Like many small, independent businesses across the country, financial realities and the changing retail landscape have made it impossible for us to continue," the Facebook post said."This decision was not made lightly. It comes after deep reflection, countless conversations, and a sincere desire to find an off-ramp to another path forward. Unfortunately, this is where our journey must come to an end," the post said.Store suffers lumber business decline The 54-year-old Franklin, Tenn., hardware store had suffered from a decline in its lumber business, which accounted for 70% to 80% of the retailer's sales, owner Mike Outlaw told the Williamson Herald.Outlaw had no idea his lumber business would collapse after purchasing the business from local retailers Mike and Shelley Moeller."When the Mollers sold us the business in 2022, they had many long-standing relationships with local builders," Outlaw said, according to the Herald. "When they left, so did many of the regular customers who decided to take their business elsewhere."Outlaw said he learned that the building business is a relationship business, and he didn't have the contacts necessary to be successful.Owner failed to sell the businessThe hardware store owner said he tried to sell his business and met with several potential buyers, but was unable to reach a sale agreement, according to the Herald."I did everything I could do to find a buyer, but this is the last thing I wanted to do: close the business," Outlaw said.Outlaw has not indicated any plans to file for bankruptcy protection.

Harpeth True Value is an independently owned store that's part of the True Value cooperative, which is owned by member-owned cooperative Do It Best.Other True Value locations have also faced financial distress, which led to closings.Hardware chain stores closeAmong the victims has been Mountain View, Calif.-based Blossom True Value Hardware, which said it will close its store in summer 2026, when its lease expires.Also, Pleasanton, Calif.'s Workbench True Value Hardware closed its 55-year-old store on Santa Rita Road and consolidated its operations at its downtown location on Main Street, which it opened in 2013.True Value serves about 4,500 independently owned retail stores.True Value chain filed for bankruptcyDo It Best purchased True Value out of bankruptcy after the hardware store chain filed for Chapter 11 protection on Oct. 14, 2024. The independently owned and operated True Value stores were not part of the bankruptcy.True Value in 2024 reached a prepetition stalking-horse agreement that called for Do it Best to acquire the hardware wholesaler’s assets for $153 million in cash and assume certain liabilities.More closings:67-year-old furniture retailer liquidates, closes downKroger grocery chain rival closes locations in restructuring143-year-old grocery chain closes more locations, lays off dozensOutlaw did not rule out the possibility that the True Value 2024 bankruptcy might have affected Harpeth True Value's performance."It's hard to say how much the corporate bankruptcy hurt our business, but the perception is there," Outlaw said, according to the Herald. Related: Popular Florida family theme park closes down for new development