In the heading of Do it Best’s LinkedIn profile lie the words of the hardware cooperative’s creed, the mission statement which defines its purpose. A principle so elemental it sits above the co-op’s name, swearing allegiance to it no matter the corporation’s identity. “Champion of Independents.” That independent ethic courses through the members but not through the veins of CEO Dan Starr, whose recent partnerships with Sherwin-Williams have left the co-op with hardware’s worst paint...

For the first time since obtaining a driver’s license at age 17, my driveway hosts no cars, continuing an unburdening which began seven years ago when I sold my paint stores in the Bronx, seeking roads less encumbered. My first drive was a 1976 Pontiac Sunbird, a hand-me-down from my sister that produced 78 horsepower on its best day—which it was not having the day she handed it down. A four-banger that could barely beat the buses up the hill to Alexander Hamilton High School—maybe a...

I spent last week in the company of independents: retailers, manufacturers and distributors of paint who coalesced in the Midwest, some to receive bad news and others to recover from it. A pilgrimage that stretched from Cleveland to Chicago which left little time for sightseeing, sans a stop at the Forest City’s monument to ignominy. An Insta which was hard to resist. Informing one of the groups were industry briefings I’m not generally privy to from Stamford, including an update from TiO2...