Indianapolis -- A number of innovations, events and product deals helped draw thousands of member-owners to the 2013 Do it Best May Market. 

“From the strong member response at the Sneak Peek, to the solid attendance at our many seminars and training events and continuing out to the bustle on the market floor, we’ve seen a lot of enthusiasm among our members this weekend,” said Do it Best Corp. President and CEO Bob Taylor.

Customers entering the Menards store in Fort Wayne, Ind., pass through a turnstile and immediately confront a great wall — the wall of "household essentials & more."

Just beyond the shelves of chips and cereal and sparkling cider, the wall marks an increased presence for cleaning supplies. While not exactly standard fare for your typical home improvement giant, some experts say carrying everyday items makes perfect sense in today's retail environment.

York, Pa.-based WOLF expanded its service area to include parts of Alabama, Indiana and Texas, increasing the number of states WOLF serves to 21.

WOLF describes itself as the largest supplier of kitchen cabinets in the United States and a leading provider of composite and PVC decking, railing, trimboards and other building products. 

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals today ordered that consumers in six states -- California, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Minnesota and Texas -- who allege that Sears sold them allegedly defective Kenmore front-loading "high efficiency" washing machines manufactured by Whirlpool may band together in a class action.

Indianapolis -- Do it Best Corp. reported sales growth of 11.2% for fiscal year 2012, and celebrated its ninth consecutive year of $100 million-plus in member rebates.

The Fort Wayne, Ind.-based co-op reported sales of $2.68 billion for its fiscal year ending June 30. Even more interesting to members was the size of the member rebate, which exceeded $100 million for the ninth year in a row. The $115.7 million rebate marks an increase of 9.4% over last year’s end-of-year rebate, and stands as the fourth highest ever. 

Ply Gem Windows will expand its facility in Rocky Mount, Va., adding 200 jobs and upgrading new extrusion tooling, equipment, products and information technology. The Cary, N.C.-based manufacturer of residential and light commercial window and patio doors expects to complete these capital investments at its Rocky Mount plant by the end of 2014.

New hires will include such jobs as unit assemblers, coordinators, value stream leaders, process owners, process engineers, technicians and IT support.

More than a 100 Do it Best Corp. staff, vendors and member-owners began building a new home for Habitat for Humanity in the co-op’s home town of Fort Wayne, Ind. 

The project is scheduled to run through early October. In addition to fully staffing the build, Do it Best Corp. is also completely funding the project, including materials and professional service provided by licensed specialists. This is the second company build the co-op has sponsored, with the first coming in 2006.

An off-duty police detective running errands in Lafayette, Ind., helped authorities nab two people suspected of passing counterfeit $10 and $20 bills at Menards, Home Depot, Walmart and other stores, according to an article in the Journal and Courier. 

The 2012 selections of Home Channel News Hardware Store All-Stars marks the second year of the state-by-state accounting of high-performance retailers. The common theme of “excellent customer service” runs through the entire list, but that’s just the beginning.

The list of Hardware Store All-Stars, one from each of the 50 U.S. states, continues with Illinois, Indiana and Iowa:

Last year, the original 50 Home Channel News Hardware Store All-Star honorees established a high bar and a hard act to follow. But the 2012 crop rises to the challenge. This year’s Hardware Store All-Stars, one from each of the 50 U.S. states, have at least one thing in common: Ask them what makes them special and you can bet they’ll include “excellent customer service” in the answer. From there, every path to stardom is unique.

Fort Wayne, Ind.-based Do it Best Corp. enhanced its e-commerce website devoted to the sale of Channellock products.

The new site, Channellockproducts.com, is a subsidiary of Do it Best Corp. and is described as “powered by Doitbest.com.”

The site is one of the outcomes of a major initiative in 2009 that brought certain Channellock products exclusively into Do it Best stores in the categories of protective gear, wet/dry vacs, flashlights and other licensed products.