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Do it Best Group recognized its 2026 Vendors of the Year during its Fall Market, honoring suppliers in four overall categories and across merchandise departments. The awards cover areas including sales growth, supply chain performance, products and services; the published announcement does not provide scoring details or financial results.
Do it Best Group recognized its 2026 Vendors of the Year during its Fall Market, naming suppliers for four overall honors and awards across individual merchandise departments. The annual program recognizes vendor partners serving the group’s independent hardware stores, lumberyards and home improvement retailers.
The four top honors went to Scotts Miracle-Gro for Overall Sales Growth, Halex Company for Supply Chain Excellence, Diablo for Outstanding Products, Support & Services, and Georgia-Pacific for Lumber & Building Materials Excellence. Do it Best’s announcement identifies the award categories and recipients but does not publish numerical results or a ranking within them.
The department awards span much of the merchandise mix carried by independent retailers. Recipients include Simpson Strong-Tie for Building Materials, Klein Tools for Electrical (Rough), Broil King for Grills, Coolers & Outdoor Entertaining, and Clorox for Home Essentials & Organization. Other winners include West Fraser for Lumber & Engineered Wood, SharkBite for Rough Plumbing, and Weyerhaeuser for Structural Panels.
Several categories name more than one honoree. The Millwork & Interior Solutions award went to Surface Shields, Wolf Home Products and Metrie. Do it Best also listed Specialty Building Products as its Lumber Distribution Partners award recipient and Green Guard Industry Ltd. for Global Sourcing. The full department-recipient list appears in the context section below.
Supplier Awards Span Retail Operations
The awards highlight the range of supplier relationships that support independent retailers, from merchandise and product availability to customer support and distribution. Do it Best says strong vendor partnerships help its members expand product offerings and serve their local communities; that is the organization’s stated rationale for recognizing suppliers across both broad performance areas and specialized departments.
The categories also point to operational concerns for hardware and home improvement businesses. Supply chain performance and sales growth sit alongside product and service recognition, reflecting the different ways vendors can support retailers. The announcement, however, does not quantify the effect of these partnerships on member sales, inventory availability or customer outcomes, so the awards should not be read as evidence of specific measured results.
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How the 2026 Honors Are Organized
Do it Best describes the program as an annual recognition of vendor partners. Its announcement says the awards recognize performance in areas such as sales growth, supply chain performance, product innovation and customer support. The 2026 honors were presented at the group’s Fall Market, according to the report published by Hardware Retailing on November 10, 2026.
Department award recipients named in the announcement are: Building Materials, Simpson Strong-Tie; Building Materials (Direct), PrimeSource; Decorative Plumbing, Superior Pump; Electrical (Rough), Klein Tools; Electrical (Decorative), Energizer; Farm, Ranch & Pet, Tenax Corporation; Grills, Coolers & Outdoor Entertaining, Broil King; Hand Tools, Channellock Inc.; Hardware, Hy-Ko; HVAC & Automotive, Erickson Manufacturing; Home Decor, Appliances, Kitchen & Impulse, Newell Brands; Home Essentials & Organization, Clorox; Holiday, Patio & Outdoor Decor, Lamplight Farms; and Lawn & Garden (Bagged Goods, Chemicals & Pest Control), Sterling International.
The remaining recipients listed are Lumber Distribution Partners, Specialty Building Products; Lumber & Engineered Wood, West Fraser; Marketing, InteQ; Millwork & Interior Solutions, Surface Shields, Wolf Home Products and Metrie; Outdoor Power Equipment & Generators, Forney Industries; Outdoor Tools & Watering, Woodland Tools Co.; Paint, Solvents & Treatments, Spray Planet USA; Paint Supplies, Caulks & Adhesives, Werner Ladder; Power Tools & Accessories, Richpower Industries Inc.; Rental, Gold Medal Products; Rough Plumbing, SharkBite; Sporting Goods & Apparel, Rocky Brands Inc.; Store Supplies, KC Store Fixtures; Structural Panels, Weyerhaeuser; and Global Sourcing, Green Guard Industry Ltd.
“Our vendor partners are essential to the success of our independent retailers.”
— Jason Stofleth, chief merchandising officer at Do it Best Group
Award Metrics Were Not Published
The announcement does not explain how winners were selected, provide category-level scoring, or state whether evaluations used sales data, member feedback, service measures or a combination of factors. It also does not give comparison periods or figures for the sales-growth and supply-chain awards. The recipients and award titles are confirmed in the published report, but the basis for comparing vendors is not detailed.
Do it Best did not provide information in the announcement about the value of the awards, changes to the program, or specific business results for member retailers. The effects of the recognized supplier relationships on store performance therefore remain unquantified.
Do it Best Plans Further Collaboration
Stofleth said the group looks forward to building on the partnerships and finding further opportunities to grow and succeed together. The announcement does not give a schedule for the next awards, identify planned initiatives with the winners, or set out additional milestones. Any specific follow-up programs or performance updates have not been disclosed.
For now, the published list records the suppliers recognized at the 2026 Fall Market. Further detail about selection methods or outcomes would require additional information from Do it Best Group or the vendors.
Key Questions
Who received Do it Best Group’s 2026 overall vendor awards?
Scotts Miracle-Gro won Overall Sales Growth, Halex Company won Supply Chain Excellence, Diablo won Outstanding Products, Support & Services, and Georgia-Pacific won Lumber & Building Materials Excellence.
When were the awards presented?
Do it Best Group said it recognized the vendors during its 2026 Fall Market. Hardware Retailing’s report was published November 10, 2026.
Were the awards based on published performance scores?
The announcement does not provide scores, selection methods or comparison data. It says the annual awards recognize areas including sales growth, supply chain performance, product innovation and customer support.
Did any categories have multiple winners?
Yes. The Millwork & Interior Solutions category named Surface Shields, Wolf Home Products and Metrie. The announcement does not explain why that category had multiple recipients.
Source: hardwareretailing.com
