Nearly 50 Illinois Hardware Stores Face Uncertainty After Parent Company Bankruptcy

A long-time hardware store chain with many Illinois locations has declared bankruptcy.

There are nearly 50 different True Value hardware stores in Illinois.

If you weren't aware, True Value, the company, is based in Chicago.

True Value reminds me of my childhood.

I was unsure of what it was until I did a quick search and realized True Value used to sponsor the mini pocket schedule the Cubs would print out, which covered every game of the season.

While the fold-up wallet schedule is a relic from yesteryear, I guess you can say the same about True Value, which just declared bankruptcy today and announced its intention to sell to rival home improvement company Do It Best.

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USA Today says a press release from True Value mentions all 4,500 of its stores will remain open because they are all independently owned.

Do It Best is paying $153 million to True Value, taking on an extra $45 million in contracts and "other obligations," and planning to hire "some True Value employees."

USA Today says the deal between Do It Best and True Value is expected to close by the end of the year.

It remains to be seen whether those independent True Value stores will remain that in name or switch over to Do It Best. However, a press release said that if the sale goes through, it would "create a network of more than 8,000 Do It Best locations in the US and the world."