RT29 Posted February 25, 2018 Report Share Posted February 25, 2018 Now that Stanley B&D, DeWalt, Rigid has bought out Craftsman you guys think maybe they make a comeback? Growing up around my Dad's auto repair shop the brand will always be dear to the heart. Back in the day they were no doubt the brand everybody knew they could count on. If a tool broke Sears replaced it no questions asked. But after being shipped overseas quality suffered bad. But now its back in the states think maybe they become a major player again in the tool game again? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aabee Posted February 25, 2018 Report Share Posted February 25, 2018 Absolutely. I remember reading that something like 1/2 of all tool chests and boxes are Craftsman brand. Lowe's is going to benefit tremendously from this partnership, ESPECIALLY if they go back to making everything in the US. If they do, there's no doubt in my mind that they'll once again be the premier hand tool brand of the big box stores. They're also going to sell their outdoor power equipment (mowers, etc) at Lowe's and, in theory, could well re-launch their cordless power tools. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justinkendall Posted February 25, 2018 Report Share Posted February 25, 2018 8 hours ago, RT29 said: Now that Stanley B&D, DeWalt, Rigid has bought out Craftsman you guys think maybe they make a comeback? Growing up around my Dad's auto repair shop the brand will always be dear to the heart. Back in the day they were no doubt the brand everybody knew they could count on. If a tool broke Sears replaced it no questions asked. But after being shipped overseas quality suffered bad. But now its back in the states think maybe they become a major player again in the tool game again? SBD doesn't own Ridgid, TTI does. I doubt they will make a big come back. They may make a small comeback in hand tools in some hardware stores and online but I doubt you will ever see any of their cordless tools again since SBD has Black & Decker, DeWalt, and Porter Cable. You're more likely to see other SBD hand tools being rebranded as Craftsman. 1 hour ago, aabee said: Absolutely. I remember reading that something like 1/2 of all tool chests and boxes are Craftsman brand. Lowe's is going to benefit tremendously from this partnership, ESPECIALLY if they go back to making everything in the US. If they do, there's no doubt in my mind that they'll once again be the premier hand tool brand of the big box stores. They're also going to sell their outdoor power equipment (mowers, etc) at Lowe's and, in theory, could well re-launch their cordless power tools. Lowes isn't going to bring Craftsman into their stores when they already have their Kobalt brand. It would be a bad financial decision. Why pay SBD for their tools when they can sell their Kobalt tools for likely a larger profit. I also doubt they start making everything in the US. SBD doesn't make everything in the US (and likely never will) so they will probably just keep making Craftsman overseas as well. Besides full size mowers I don't think you will see much OPE at Lowes because again they have Kobalt. You might be able to order it from Lowes.com but I don't think you will suddenly see a bunch of Craftsman products appear in the store. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jronman Posted February 25, 2018 Report Share Posted February 25, 2018 @justinkendall do you mean Emerson instead of TTI? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justinkendall Posted February 25, 2018 Report Share Posted February 25, 2018 54 minutes ago, Jronman said: @justinkendall do you mean Emerson instead of TTI? I assumed RT29 was talking about Ridgid power tools in their original post when they mentioned SBD and DeWalt, so for lack of a better word TTI does own that. Ridgid (Emerson) doesn't really have a line of hand tools equivalent to what SBD, DeWalt, Kobalt, Husky, etc. does if RT29 was talking about hand tools. Either was I was just pointing out that SBD doesn't own Ridgid in either form. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMack37 Posted February 26, 2018 Report Share Posted February 26, 2018 7 hours ago, justinkendall said: Lowes isn't going to bring Craftsman into their stores when they already have their Kobalt brand. It would be a bad financial decision. Why pay SBD for their tools when they can sell their Kobalt tools for likely a larger profit. I also doubt they start making everything in the US. SBD doesn't make everything in the US (and likely never will) so they will probably just keep making Craftsman overseas as well. Besides full size mowers I don't think you will see much OPE at Lowes because again they have Kobalt. You might be able to order it from Lowes.com but I don't think you will suddenly see a bunch of Craftsman products appear in the store. I believe that there was a press release that said that Lowe's was going to carry Craftsman...I personally imagine it's going to take the place of Stanley and actually compete with Kobalt. Why would Lowe's do that? (My opinion) Because SBD has them by the balls, Dewalt is their best selling brand. Then PC and B&D are right up there, surely. Bostitch is one of the bigger nailer/compressor brands. Irwin is big in hand tools and Lenox is in their category, Lowe's is practically a SBD direct store. It's really a win-win, either way they're making a sale and the Craftsman brand will bring people in the door. Craftsman still has a perceived value to many just because they've always seen it, most don't know it's junk (right now) and less know that Craftsman doesn't make anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aabee Posted February 26, 2018 Report Share Posted February 26, 2018 ^Exactly. Lowe's is going to sell Craftsman products starting in (IIRC) 3Q 2018; possibly earlier, which will include (at least) hand tools and outdoor power equipment. Kobalt will coexist with Craftsman, albeit as a more value-oriented brand. Honestly, it's a great decision to have both considering their warranties. If Craftsman goes back to their made in the USA products then this is potentially game-changing as their history is far more iconic than, say, Husky and to a lesser extent Kobalt (the latter from people I've worked with generally has a better reputation for hand tools than the former). I think there's a pretty significant groundswell for products made in the US to re-emerge, and if there's a brand that's synonymous with hand tools at the forefront -- regardless of how warranted that reputation has been of late -- so much the better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RT29 Posted February 26, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2018 8 hours ago, justinkendall said: I assumed RT29 was talking about Ridgid power tools in their original post when they mentioned SBD and DeWalt, so for lack of a better word TTI does own that. Ridgid (Emerson) doesn't really have a line of hand tools equivalent to what SBD, DeWalt, Kobalt, Husky, etc. does if RT29 was talking about hand tools. Either was I was just pointing out that SBD doesn't own Ridgid in either form. True, my fault....TTI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RT29 Posted February 26, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2018 I read they're coming late 2018. If this is true I tend to agree with BMack 37 (IMO) Lowe's are doing what Home Depot does. More variety in the power tools HD has Ryobi and Ridgid as house brands, DeWalt, Makita, Milwaukee as partnered brands. Lowes can do something similar, with Kobalt, DeWalt - Porter Cable, Craftsman, and Hitachi. I don't think they will lifetime, (walk in we give you another) warranty it like Sears did. HD is 3 times the size of the Lowes brand why not follow their blueprint? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fm2176 Posted February 26, 2018 Report Share Posted February 26, 2018 The Craftsman brand will have a hard time becoming as popular as it once was, in my opinion. While Craftsman hand tools are ubiquitous, Sears' plight coupled with the decision to move away from the "Made in USA" quality the brand was formerly known for has stigmatized it in the eyes of many people. Most of us old enough to remember when we could walk into a Sears and swap out a domestically made ratchet for a brand new one (before they started repairing them in store and way before they shifted to offshore manufacturers) already have more tools than we need. However, if Craftsman brings production back here I could see myself buying their tools for gifts. I don't think it is too late for Craftsman to renew itself, but I do think that the tool market has changed quite a bit from Craftsman's heyday. When I turned wrenches in the 90's, Sears was the go-to place for decent quality tools with a lifetime warranty. Now there are a multitude of okay brands with similar warranties, making Kobalt, Husky, or even Pittsburgh as likely to be seen in a young mechanic's tool box as newer Craftsman hand tools. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMack37 Posted February 27, 2018 Report Share Posted February 27, 2018 I think Kobalt currently has the best ratchets in that category, the mini heads that just came out are damn nice...and I like Apex (Husky). I recall reading that there is some planning for the same Craftsman warranty as before, that seems like its going to be difficult to have the inventory...(Following is all speculation) We could see them pull back the Kobalt single sockets over time as the Taiwan made singles dry up. Or maybe they'll not sell single Craftsman sockets but have sockets available to be pulled from top stock. I also don't imagine rebuild kits will ever come back, they'll probably RTV then rebuild them at the factory. I wonder if HD will make it a wider program to accept Craftsman as trade on Husky. This could start a pretty beneficial war between HD and Lowe's, right now it's not really a big competition, two house brands with similar inventory (Though Kobalt has a wider variety of sets and ratchet variations)...but add Craftsman, HD might need to step it up. Maybe they bring Gearwrench in-store instead of just online. Maybe prices come down at both stores. One can hope! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phffter Posted February 28, 2018 Report Share Posted February 28, 2018 On 2/25/2018 at 3:22 PM, Jronman said: @justinkendall do you mean Emerson instead of TTI? tti makes the ridgid branded battery tools available at the orange box. emerson electric owns ridgid. ridgid still makes electric pipe threading machines, and a range of hand tools, including pipe wrenches. many of their hand tools are rebranded. been a long time since i have seen a new ridgid pipe mule, dont know if they are still USA made Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigmikez Posted March 1, 2018 Report Share Posted March 1, 2018 Did any of you guys see this? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DR99 Posted March 1, 2018 Report Share Posted March 1, 2018 I was trying to figure out the OEM was but no such luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMack37 Posted March 1, 2018 Report Share Posted March 1, 2018 The battery looks like Chervon but the tools don't look like the Ego stuff. I swear I've seen a blower like that before but I can't recall right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimboS1ice Posted March 1, 2018 Report Share Posted March 1, 2018 The battery looks like Chervon but the tools don't look like the Ego stuff. I swear I've seen a blower like that before but I can't recall right now.Blower is set up like the RIDGID blower, maybe even the harbor freight Lynx blowerSent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimboS1ice Posted March 1, 2018 Report Share Posted March 1, 2018 The battery looks like Chervon but the tools don't look like the Ego stuff. I swear I've seen a blower like that before but I can't recall right now.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMack37 Posted March 2, 2018 Report Share Posted March 2, 2018 I forgot that Ryobi's 40V battery looked like that, maybe it's TTI made...Craftsman has had a relationship with them in the past, I think the power tools were AEG rebrands(so Ridgid). It's not unheard of for competing companies to build products for another, Samsung and Apple come to mind as a good example...Apple even regularly sues Samsung frivolously 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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