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Do it Best Group announced its 2026 Vendors of the Year during its 2026 Fall Market, naming winners in four overall categories and across merchandise departments. The awards recognize supplier partners for areas including sales growth, supply chain performance, products, service and collaboration; the company did not disclose scoring or selection details.
Do it Best Group recognized its 2026 Vendors of the Year at the company’s Fall Market, naming Scotts Miracle-Gro for overall sales growth, Halex Company for supply chain excellence, Diablo for outstanding products, support and services, and Georgia-Pacific for lumber and building materials excellence. The awards identify supplier partners the home-improvement cooperative says help its independent retailers serve customers and compete in their markets.
The four overall awards cover different aspects of the supplier relationship. Scotts Miracle-Gro received the sales growth honor, while Halex Company was recognized for supply chain excellence. Do it Best named Diablo for outstanding products, support and services and Georgia-Pacific Gypsum for lumber and building materials excellence.
The company also announced winners in individual merchandise departments, including Simpson Strong-Tie for building materials, Klein Tools for rough electrical, Broil King for grills and outdoor entertaining, and SharkBite for rough plumbing. Other department honorees include Energizer, Channellock, Clorox, West Fraser, Weyerhaeuser and Rocky Brands. The report lists three winners for millwork and interior solutions: Surface Shields, Wolf Home Products and Metrie.
Do it Best said the annual program recognizes vendors in areas such as sales growth, supply chain performance, product innovation and customer support. Its published announcement names the recipients but does not provide award scores, sales figures or a description of how the company evaluated candidates.
Supplier Recognition Across Retail Categories
The awards offer a snapshot of the suppliers Do it Best is choosing to recognize across a broad range of merchandise categories. For independent hardware stores, lumberyards and home-improvement retailers, supplier performance can affect whether products are available, what choices stores can offer, and how reliably retailers can support customers. The company specifically identified supply chain performance and customer support among the qualities its awards recognize.
The range of winners also shows that recognition was not limited to one product segment. The department list spans building materials, electrical, plumbing, paint, outdoor power equipment, lawn and garden, and other categories. That breadth may be relevant to member retailers making purchasing and merchandising decisions, but the announcement does not say that the awards establish a preferred-vendor ranking or require members to buy from the honorees.
For the suppliers, the recognition is a public acknowledgment from a cooperative whose members operate independent retail businesses. Do it Best Chief Merchandising Officer Jason Stofleth said the awards recognize companies that deliver innovative solutions, reliable service and opportunities for growth. Those descriptions reflect the company’s stated rationale; the report does not include independent performance data to compare the winners with other suppliers.
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How the Fall Market Awards Fit
The announcement was published by Hardware Retailing on November 10, 2026, and says the awards were presented during Do it Best Group’s 2026 Fall Market. The article characterizes the awards as an annual recognition of vendors that work with the cooperative and its members.
Do it Best describes its vendor relationships as important to helping member retailers expand product offerings and serve their communities. In this announcement, the company connects recognition to both commercial measures, such as sales growth and supply chain performance, and service-oriented factors, such as product support and collaboration. The article does not give further details about the Fall Market program, including when during the event the awards were presented.
“Our vendor partners are essential to the success of our independent retailers.”
— Jason Stofleth, chief merchandising officer at Do it Best Group
Award Criteria and Selection Details
The announcement does not explain how vendors were nominated or selected, who made the decisions, or whether the criteria were weighted differently by category. It also provides no quantitative results, such as sales growth rates, service benchmarks, delivery performance or product measures, for the honorees.
The report does not say how many suppliers were considered, whether members took part in voting, or whether the awards carry any purchasing or promotional commitments. The published list is the confirmed set of named recipients; claims about comparative performance beyond Do it Best’s descriptions cannot be assessed from the information provided.
How Do it Best Builds on the Awards
Do it Best said it looks forward to building on the partnerships and finding further opportunities for the cooperative and its members to grow. The announcement does not identify a specific follow-up program, new supplier agreement or next award date. Any additional details about how the recognition will affect vendor relationships or retailer offerings remain unannounced.
For now, the immediate development is the publication of the 2026 winners and the company’s recognition of them at the Fall Market. Further information about award criteria or next year’s process would need to come from Do it Best or a later announcement.
Key Questions
Who received Do it Best Group’s 2026 overall Vendor of the Year honors?
Scotts Miracle-Gro won for overall sales growth, Halex Company for supply chain excellence, Diablo for outstanding products, support and services, and Georgia-Pacific Gypsum for lumber and building materials excellence.
Where were the awards presented?
Do it Best Group said it recognized the vendors during its 2026 Fall Market. The announcement does not give the exact presentation date within the event.
Were there awards beyond the four overall honors?
Yes. Do it Best also named recipients in individual merchandise departments, including building materials, electrical, plumbing, outdoor entertaining, lawn and garden, and power tools. The announcement lists multiple department winners, including three for millwork and interior solutions.
How did Do it Best choose the winners?
The company said its awards recognize areas such as sales growth, supply chain performance, product innovation and customer support. It did not publish nomination procedures, scoring, selection participants or comparative performance data.
Do the awards require member retailers to use the winning vendors?
The announcement does not state that the awards create purchasing requirements or exclusive supplier arrangements. It describes the honors as recognition of vendor partners and their contributions to the cooperative and its members.
Source: hardwareretailing.com
