Why do people get True Value and Ace Hardware mixed up? -

I work at an Ace Hardware and people always come in thinking it s a True Value store. I was just wondering what the connection between the two is. Were the two stores at some point the same store? Or could it be that people get them mixed up because they are both small town hardware stores?

Both chains carry approximately the same goods for about the same prices. If I need some wood stain, I probably won t pick a store by which chain it belongs to, but rather by how close it is to my house (or wherever I m working). Most of your customers don t really care which chain your store belongs to, they only care about price and selection.I don t think that the two chains were one at some point. Usually chains merge, they don t split off.

Both chains have many similarities. They are both small town stores that are usually independently owned but part of a national franchise. Their logos are both mainly red. Ace and True value are the big hardware chains. Dont worry, i work at an idependent hardware store with no affilation, we buy from orgill and a few others, and people still confuse us with Ace and True Value.