JOHN DAY — The sale of Chicago-based hardware wholesaler True Value to Do it Best Corp. won’t affect the John Day location the way it will some other independently owned True Value stores.

The store at 161 E. Main St. has already transitioned from True Value to John Day Hardware, having affiliated with the Do it Best co-op back in February. John Day Hardware manager Jacob Ballinger said the move was not in anticipation of the franchise’s sale, but was motivated instead by a change in the way True Value did things. 

“There were some changes to the franchise regarding warehouse storage and those types of things that weren’t good for business,” he said.

The John Day store has continued to operate in much the same way it always has following the transition to the Do it Best banner, Bellinger added. 

A news release issued by True Value said the company has voluntarily initiated Chapter 11 proceedings in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. “True Value will continue its day-to-day operations serving 4,500 independently owned retailers that rely on True Value for the right products, trusted expertise, and its 75-year-old iconic brand,” the release stated.

The company said it hopes to have completed the sale by the end of the year, adding that True Value stores are independently owned and are not a part of the Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection proceedings save for one company-owned store in Palatine, Illinois.

Do it Best Corp., formerly known as Hardware Wholesalers Inc., was founded in 1945 in Fort Wayne, Indiana. In 1998, Hardware Wholesalers Inc. merged with a Minnesota-based regional co-op called Our Own Hardware, with the combined operation ultimately changing its name to Do it Best Corp.