Edward E. Lanctot, 84; Co-Founded True Value Hardware Chain

Edward E. Lanctot, 84, who co-founded a tiny Chicago cooperative hardware company that grew into the True Value chain, died Oct. 30 at the Resurrection Nursing and Rehab Center in Park Ridge, Ill., of complications from a stroke.

Lanctot began his career selling nuts and bolts after high school, working with hardware merchandiser John Cotter in his hometown of Duluth, Minn. After Lanctot completed his four-year Army service in 1946, he joined Cotter in Chicago in a bold effort to consolidate and revolutionize what had been a mom-and-pop industry. The idea was to band independent hardware retailers into a cooperative, sharing purchasing and advertising and making more items available to more customers at a higher profit.

Hardware goods that had been rationed during World War II were in great demand, and customers were highly receptive to the direct-mail and national advertising campaigns that Lanctot devised. His efforts made True Value a household name, and by the time Lanctot retired in 1989, the chain had 7,000 stores. The number has since been reduced to about 5,000 because of competition from mega-stores like Home Depot and Wal-Mart.

In addition to direct mail, Lanctot introduced celebrity sponsorship to the hardware industry. He employed well-known radio and television personalities, including Paul Harvey, Pat Summerall and Willard Scott as True Value pitchmen.