Mansfield's True Value Co Opting a Niche in the Town

Mansfield’s is more than just another retail store, they’re do-it-yourselfers as well.

Co-owner Robert Todd Sr. (along with his two sons, Robert Todd Jr. and Christopher) runs and operates the store. He and his family have been in business for more than 30 years, though, not always in retail hardware.

Before they opened the store in Mansfield, the family worked together for about 18 years in construction and development business. Todd said this background gives he and his sons a unique outlook other people’s projects.

“Having a background in construction, the boys know electrical, framing, plumbing, finishing; so when people come in and they’re do-it-yourselfers, they can come in and get advice here,” he said. “Because we were in development all those years, [we] do house calls.”

Todd said that his store not only has the expertise from years of experience building and maintaining their own contracts, but building a life for his own family as well. He said that was the reason they bought the property in the first place.

“We felt that the boys had young families [at the time] and the time that had to be devoted to construction and development was very demanding,” he said. “They felt that more time should be spent with their children and the raising of the family and so forth, we all agreed this would be a better alternative.”

So they bought the property on North Main Street, which was a nightclub, grocery store and a carpet store in the years before. Todd said that he bought the actual business from the old owner on a different location, but needed the extra space of their current location.

While True Value Hardware is a national chain, it does differ from other franchise-based businesses. Todd said that they work as a collaborative, which basically means representatives of each store run the company and each storeowner has a stock and say in the direction of the company.

“As a member of a co op, you own shares in the True Value corporation and share in the profits and losses,” he said. “If the parent company suffers losses, so do you.”

Todd said that while the corporation saw tough times in the mid to late 90s, during the advent of big hardware stores such as Home Depot and Lowes, they were able to bounce back and change their program and become a very healthy company. He said his store has not suffered losses because of the corporation.

“We’ve had to develop niche’s to set us apart from the Home Depot [type stores],” Todd said. “They set us apart from the department stores, and that’s what you need to do in this economy.”

Todd added that his son, Christopher’s wife Julie, who worked in a Bridgewater True Value store, made the transition from construction to retail much easier.

Todd is also on the Downtown Parking Committee and is a member of the Downtown Business Association. He said his wife, Gail, helped to organize this year's , which was an amazing success.

“The people of Mansfield are very supportive of the store,” he said. “We’ve enjoyed being here for the last 13 years.”