fm2176 Posted October 25, 2017 Report Share Posted October 25, 2017 https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/24/stanley-black-and-decker-taps-lowes-to-sell-the-craftsman-tool-brand.html Found this on the Toolguyd discussion board, a summary search didn't find any similar posts here yet. What are everyone's thoughts? Craftsman was the go-to brand for decades, but as Sears began its decline, Lowe's and Home Depot seemed more than capable of filling the demand with their respective Kobalt and Husky brands. It may be subjectiveness on my part, but I've always considered Lowe's house brand to be more of a spiritual successor to Craftsman's dominance than Husky ever was. Kobalt came out of the gates in the late 90's swinging at the biggest names in mechanic's tools. Lowe's was closer to me than Sears, had better marketing, and offered great looking tools; had they been introduced a year or so earlier, Williams-made Kobalt would doubtlessly dominate my old tool boxes I used at the dealership, instead of the hodgepodge of Snap-On, Matco, Mac, and Craftsman I currently have residing in storage. Which brings me to my point. Where will Craftsman fit in at Lowe's? They recently expanded their Stanley offerings, will those go away? Lowe's has also recently revamped the Kobalt hand tool displays, introduced their 24v Max cordless system, and seems to have scaled back Kobalt's product lines in recent years. A few years ago they replaced Kobalt drywall and masonry tools, and now the brand seems marketed more towards mechanics and general construction - much the same as Craftsman. There will doubtlessly be a lot of overlap, and it will be interesting to see if Craftsman is priced above, below, or similar to the Kobalt line Lowe's has focused on for nearly twenty years. Ten years ago I'd have hoped that Craftsman would be pushed as the dominant brand. Now, not so much. If SBD Craftsman markets the same offshore tools Craftsman has become known for in recent years, I'll probably stick with Kobalt if an inexpensive tool is needed. In my opinion, the blue Kobalt has more visual appeal than the red and grey (or whatever colors) Craftsman does nowadays. We'll see how it goes, I guess. Opinions and input is much appreciated! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cr8ondt Posted October 25, 2017 Report Share Posted October 25, 2017 SBD has committed to huge US manufacturing growth and has repeated many times that the Craftsman brand is part of that strategy. I for one am looking forward to seeing SBD revitalize Craftman. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stercorarius Posted October 25, 2017 Report Share Posted October 25, 2017 They're also going to be selling them at Ace so it's by no means an exclusive agreement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cr8ondt Posted October 25, 2017 Report Share Posted October 25, 2017 1 hour ago, Stercorarius said: They're also going to be selling them at Ace so it's by no means an exclusive agreement. Ace has been for a couple years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stercorarius Posted October 25, 2017 Report Share Posted October 25, 2017 1 minute ago, Cr8ondt said: Ace has been for a couple years. Ace has had Sears CMan not SBD CMan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMack37 Posted October 25, 2017 Report Share Posted October 25, 2017 I'm surprised Lowe's okayed it. I imagine this means a quick end to Stanley ratchets/sockets at Lowe's. There doesn't seem to be much shelf space available, I'm thinking that it may start with an endcap or cardboard runway display. Dewalt has an endcap near hand tools for their batteries at the Lowe's in this region. Perfect place for Craftsman signage...before you get to Kobalt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stercorarius Posted October 25, 2017 Report Share Posted October 25, 2017 I'd be surprised if they didn't. At this point no one is going to go to Lowe's for tools when there is an equally convenient Home Depot, even then if there's a HD available at all they'll probably go there. Milwaukee and Makita have to generate a considerable amount of foot traffic there. I doubt most consumers differentiate between house brand husky and house brand kobalt in a way that would benefit Lowe's. You throw up a Craftsman section and you get foot traffic from people going there for Craftsman. Kobalt tools don't have that kind of following. They'll take the hit in Kobalt sales and make up for it and then some on stuff people buy because they're there for CMan. Or who knows maybe CMan will be too high priced and see the low price on Kobalt next to it, buy the Kobalt instead. Seems like a win win for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DR99 Posted October 25, 2017 Report Share Posted October 25, 2017 Lowes is such a second player when it comes to tools compared to HD. I know Hitachi is trying to be a bigger player in the tool world. We also have Chervon buying Skill too. I'm curious to see what happens with that. Will we see a revitalized Skill after kinda being the dumping ground for cheap tools by Bosch. Lowes needs to have a Ryobi competitor that line is just huge, and another Pro line besides Dewalt I know Hitachi is there, but they need something. They also need better deals on tools HD shits on lowes with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cr8ondt Posted October 26, 2017 Report Share Posted October 26, 2017 10 hours ago, DR99 said: Lowes is such a second player when it comes to tools compared to HD. I know Hitachi is trying to be a bigger player in the tool world. We also have Chervon buying Skill too. I'm curious to see what happens with that. Will we see a revitalized Skill after kinda being the dumping ground for cheap tools by Bosch. Lowes needs to have a Ryobi competitor that line is just huge, and another Pro line besides Dewalt I know Hitachi is there, but they need something. They also need better deals on tools HD shits on lowes with that. Did you forget the giant Bosch displays at Lowes? Lowes has Ryobi competitors with Kobalt and Porter Cable albit both have smaller lineups but arguably better products (I have alot of Ryobi stuff, just because of the oddball offerings) also lets not forget Lowes carries much more B&D product. I wouldn't quite call Lowes "such a second player" but a very close second. True HD has generally better sales and more power tool brands overall but Lowes dedicates alot more sq ft to tools than just the 2-3 isles and a couple endcaps at HD. SBD taking Craftsman to Lowes seems a no brainer as they already have a good relationship with much of SBD's portfolio in the stores now. I almost get the feeling HD and SBD have a troubled arrangement and only keep it for their respective customers as other than DeWalt there are quite few SBD offerings since HD pulled mostly all Stanley tools a few years ago. Which begs the question of why is Flexvolt at HD and not at Lowes too? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fm2176 Posted October 26, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 26, 2017 Hands down, Home Depot beats Lowe's when it comes to power tool brands, but I'd argue that Kobalt mechanics hand tools are a bit more prominent than their Husky counterparts. While both pale in comparison with Sears, the average Home Depot has one piece of wall space devoted to wrenches, sockets, and ratchets, while many Lowe's these days have a dead-end aisle that is fully devoted, to include individual sockets and wrenches (which HD does not offer many of, if I'm not mistaken). This is why I'm curious about Craftsman's place in Lowe's. Either Kobalt or Craftsman will take a hit in store, likely due to price and perceived quality. If SBD brings production back stateside, perhaps we'll see Kobalt become a weird brand in between Craftsman and whatever super cheap brand Lowe's offer now (Project Source, Task Force, Blue Hawk, etc). Like many others, I want to see SBD revitalize the Craftsman brand and return it to a fragment of its former glory as a widely available and dependable brand with an almost unmatched warranty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMack37 Posted October 26, 2017 Report Share Posted October 26, 2017 10 hours ago, fm2176 said: Hands down, Home Depot beats Lowe's when it comes to power tool brands, but I'd argue that Kobalt mechanics hand tools are a bit more prominent than their Husky counterparts. While both pale in comparison with Sears, the average Home Depot has one piece of wall space devoted to wrenches, sockets, and ratchets, while many Lowe's these days have a dead-end aisle that is fully devoted, to include individual sockets and wrenches (which HD does not offer many of, if I'm not mistaken). This is why I'm curious about Craftsman's place in Lowe's. Either Kobalt or Craftsman will take a hit in store, likely due to price and perceived quality. If SBD brings production back stateside, perhaps we'll see Kobalt become a weird brand in between Craftsman and whatever super cheap brand Lowe's offer now (Project Source, Task Force, Blue Hawk, etc). Like many others, I want to see SBD revitalize the Craftsman brand and return it to a fragment of its former glory as a widely available and dependable brand with an almost unmatched warranty. In my HD it has easily the same amout of space dedicated to individual sockets. It doesn't seem like it because it's spread out over a larger area and has a huge top stock, while Lowe's racks are about 3-feet shorter than the HD bay. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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