Do it Best Spring Market Drives Member Profitability
During its spring market in Indianapolis, Do it Best Corp. kicked off a year-long celebration of the co-op’s 75th anniversary while highlighting ways for member-owners to increase their profitability.
The market, held February 7-10, featured thousands of innovative new products, exclusive vendor programs, informative seminars, customizable programs and fun networking events to help member-owners compete and win in today’s dynamic marketplace.
A popular feature on the market floor was Core Solutions, a comprehensive display of the best of the best assortments in the hand and power tool departments. Members were able to order tailored planogram layouts at significant discounts so they could enhance their profitability in these core categories.
Friday afternoon, Do it Best kept the energy going with its market kickoff event. President and CEO Dan Starr took the stage to share a mid-year performance update and highlight the strategic investments being made to fuel member profitability and long-term growth.
“We’re kicking off a milestone year. After 75 years, we are still committed to being your best, first choice,” Starr told retailers in attendance. “We live in a perpetual time of disruption, but the joy of what we do is to help you drive profitability and grow your business into the future.”
Starr added, “We’re starting the first quarter very strong and are well ahead of where we were last year. Growth is imperative, and we’re making improvements to our supply chain, marketing and training and we’re putting analytics to everything.”
Rich Lynch, vice president-marketing, said retailers today are competing in a more digital world. “We launched a new e-commerce platform on December 26 that is much more robust. We have consumer marketing specialists that are helping members position their stores for success with digital marketing and Best Rewards. We’re investing resources into a digital dashboard that integrates with the website,” Lynch said.
Do it Best Corp. Plans Move to New Company Headquarters
Do it Best Corp. has signed a letter of intent to locate its corporate headquarters at Electric Works in Fort Wayne, Ind. Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb, Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry and other local regional and state leaders joined Do it Best Corp. CEO Dan Starr and representatives of RTM Ventures, the development team behind Electric Works, in making the announcement on February 13. The letter of intent calls for Do it Best Corp. to occupy almost 200,000 square feet of space on multiple floors on the project’s West Campus, with the ability to add up to 20,000 square feet more if needed for expansion.
In addition to providing the company’s employees a more collaborative, open and efficient work environment, Electric Works will strengthen Do it Best’s ability to retain and attract skilled talent from across the country in an increasingly multigenerational labor market.
“Being at Electric Works will help us be an employer of first choice, retaining and attracting top multi-generational talent not only from here in Fort Wayne, but also on a broader scale,” said Do it Best Corp. President and CEO Dan Starr. “It enables us to keep our roots in the community we’ve called home for 75 years, while at the same time positioning us for a bright future.
Do it Best Corp. is the largest privately held company in the state of Indiana. Construction at Electric Works is expected to begin this summer.
