The home improvement and hardware retail sector has been dominated by Home Depot, Lowe’s, and Amazon in recent years.
When it comes to sales in the first quarter of 2025, Home Depot had about 27.2% of the market, Lowe’s captured 17%, and Amazon attracted 15.6% of the market in the first quarter, according to Numerator’s Home Improvement Tracker.
Top home improvement chains for sales Q1 2025:
- Home Depot, 27.2% of market.
- Lowe’s, 17% of market
- Amazon, 15.6% of market.
But when you consider America’s Most Trusted study, conducted by Lifestory Research for 2025, Home Depot finished No.1 with a five-star ranking, Lowe’s was No. 2, also with a five-star ranking, Ace Hardware finished third with a four-star rating, and Costco was fourth with a three-star rating.
America’s Most Trusted home improvement chains:
- #1 Home Depot.
- #2 Lowe’s.
- #3 Ace Hardware.
Related: Iconic retail chain shuts down its remaining stores in bankruptcy
Another hardware store that competes with the home improvement heavyweights and head-to-head with Ace Hardware, cooperative True Value, did not rank in Numerator’s and Lifestory’s surveys.
True Value Company, which provides wholesale hardline products to 4,500 independently owned retailers, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Oct. 14, 2024, and sold its assets to hardware, lumber, and building materials cooperative Do it Best Corp.
True Value
Kreuger’s True Value closes 159-year-old store
One hardware store that is part of True Value’s cooperative, iconic Kreuger’s True Value, revealed that it will close its Neenah, Wis., location permanently in the next three to four months after completing a retirement/liquidation/going-out-of-business sale, which began on July 22.
Kreuger’s True Value sent a letter to the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development on July 17 informing the agency that the store’s 37 employees will be terminated after the going-out-of-business sale is completed.
Related: Bankrupt home goods chain cancels store location closings
The hardware store, which opened in the year after the Civil War in 1866, is one of the 4,500 independently owned retail stores that is part of a retail network that purchases wholesale hardware from True Value Company and operates under the brand name.
Kreuger’s True Value has operated out of its current location since 1972, where it had relocated from a downtown Neenah, Wis., store.
The store was founded by William Kreuger in 1866 and is being operated by its fifth generation of owners, WBAY-TV reported.
More closings:
- Major furniture manufacturer closes down, no bankruptcy
- Iconic pizza chain’s franchisees close multiple restaurants
- Iconic retail chain closing over 100 stores in bankruptcy
Kreuger’s owners Jim and Brian Webb decided to retire and attempted to sell the business, but could not complete a sale with potential buyers.
The owners will liquidate and wind down the business over the next 12 to 16 weeks, according to the company’s letter to the state.
Why is Kreuger’s True Value Closing?
- Owners Jim and Brian Webb are retiring and could not find a buyer for the business.
Some more specialized home improvement retailers are seeking sales of their assets or are closing down their business after filing for bankruptcy.
The parent company of home improvement retailer Gardener’s Supply Company, America’s Gardening Resource Inc., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on June 20, 2025, seeking to sell its assets to a stalking-horse bidder as it faces financial distress.
Home improvement retail and wholesale company Mosaic Companies LLC, a leader in the surfaces industry for luxury wall and mosaic tile, floor tile, and stone slab, on July 8, 2025, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with plans to sell certain of its assets and wind down and liquidate other remaining businesses.
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