House-Hasson to buy Bostwick-Braun
House-Hasson Hardware, the Knoxville-based independent regional hardware distributor, has signed a letter of intent to acquire Bostwick-Braun Hardware, a midwestern U.S. wholesale hardware distributor.
“These businesses are owned by many thousands of men and women, husbands and wives, sons and fathers, mothers and daughters, and we want to make sure they continue to prosper. Their profitability is our purpose,” said Steve Henry, president and CEO of House-Hasson.
Both Henry and Pete Richichi, CEO of Bostwick-Braun, said the letter of intent was signed Tuesday, March 19, and said the acquisition will include warehouses and inventory.
[The news follows by less than a month the announcement that Do it Best intends to acquire United Hardware. Read more here.]
The acquisition described in the letter of intent will be complete after a period of due diligence. Financial terms of the deal were not released.
“When completed, this acquisition doubles the number of our distribution centers, grows our inventory, and puts us in an even stronger position to provide everything our dealers need,” Henry said.
House-Hasson’s main warehouse is at its Knoxville corporate headquarters; a second warehouse is in Prichard, West Virginia.
With the addition of Bostwick-Braun's West Helena, Arkansas, and Ashley, Indiana, warehouses, House-Hasson said it will have more than 1.1 million square feet of warehouse, receiving and shipping space.
“Bostwick-Braun has a remarkable history, and, to its leadership’s credit, they recognized that now is a good time to partner together to better serve our combined customers,” Henry said.
Richichi said that Bostwick-Braun has a nearly 170-year history of working for customers throughout the U.S. Midwest.
“Bostwick-Braun is privileged to have served so many wonderful customers in our long history,” Richichi said.
“Our doors opened only 79 years after the U.S. became an independent nation: since the day we opened we’ve enabled our customers to be successful,” he said.
“Our long history was possible because of generations of employees dedicated to doing a great job for our customers. Our assessment, after much consideration, is that House-Hasson, with its history and dealer-profitability focus, is exactly the right company to continue our legacy,” said Richichi.
There are 110 employees working in Bostwick-Braun’s two warehouses; House-Hasson plans to try to retain as many employees as possible.
House-Hasson’s staff currently numbers 465 employees in Knoxville and Prichard. House-Hasson serves dealers in 23 states and the Caribbean Basin.
In 2023, privately-owned House-Hasson, founded in 1906 in Knoxville, had total sales of $350 million; Bostwick-Braun’s sales were approximately $80 million.
Henry said: “We believe in the future of independent hardware stores and lumber yards.”
