The home improvement and hardware retail sectors have been dominated by Home Depot and Lowe’s for decades, shoving hardware cooperatives True Value Hardware and Ace Hardware out of the way and brushing off independent hardware retailers.
Home Depot captured an average of 29% of the home improvement market in the third quarter of 2025, while Lowe’s followed behind with 17% of the market, and Amazon had about 11%, according to the Numerator Home Improvement Tracker.
With three national retailers capturing 57% of the market, hardware cooperatives and small, independent hardware stores are having difficulties staying in business, including retailers that have been in business for over 50 years.
159-year-old Kreuger’s True Value hardware store in Neenah, Wis., revealed in July 2025 that it would permanently shut down its business in 12 to 16 months after a liquidation sale.
Another iconic True Value hardware store, 117-year-old Ritter’s True Value Hardware, in Mechanicsburg, Pa., shut down permanently on Sept. 30, 2025, and 56-year-old Carnation Ace Hardware, in Carnation, Wash., closed its business forever on Oct. 25.
65-year-old Yakima, Wash.-based C&H Hardware closed down its independent hardware store on Nov. 26, facing rising prices and difficulty competing against online sales, according to KIMA-TV 29.
And now, 80-year-old Benjamin Brothers True Value Hardware will permanently close its Tenafly, N.J., location on Jan. 31, 2026, the store owners revealed on their Facebook page.
“After 80 years of service, we have made the difficult decision to close our doors on January 31, 2026,” the company said in the post.
“We would like to express our sincere appreciation to our customers for their continued support and patronage throughout the years,” the hardware store said in the post. “It has been an honor to serve Tenafly and the surrounding communities, and we are deeply grateful for the memories, relationships, and experiences we have gained along the way.”
More closings:
“Thank you to everyone who has been a part of the Benjamin Bros. family. Your loyalty and support have meant more to us than words can express,” the post said.
The store’s owners did not indicate a reason for closing the hardware store.
Benjamin Brothers True Value, which opened in Tenafly in 1946, began as a lumber yard and became a hardware business in 1963, NorthJersey.com reported. The hardware store is independently owned and operated and is part of the True Value Hardware Cooperative.
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