Craftsman Sold

Sears Sells Craftsman Brand to Stanley Black & Decker
Sears Gets Name Royalty-Free for 15 Years, Expanded Distribution

Quote :

It’s been a household name for more than 80 years. Chances are nearly all of you reading this have at least one tool in your toolbox embossed with the Craftsman name. Sears’ famous line of reasonably priced, no-hassle return hand tools and line of electric and pneumatic tools is being sold to Stanley Black & Decker for nearly $1 billion dollars. Under the deal, Sears retains full distribution rights to the tools at its retail outlets, which include Kmart, and royalty-free use of the Craftsman name for 15 years after the deal closing and a 3 percent royalty thereafter. Stanley Black & Decker takes over product development and marketing of the Craftsman brand, and has the right to expand distribution among other channels.

Stanley Black & Decker will pay Sears Holdings $525 million at closing, $250 million at the end of year three, and incremental payments thereafter for a total of $900 million. Look for expanded distribution of Craftsman tools through Northern California–based Orchard Supply Hardware, which was owned by Sears from 1996-2012 and sold to Lowe’s in 2013. Orchard Supply currently sells Craftsman tools. Lowe’s is also a prime candidate to sell the full lineup of Craftsman hand and power tools. Other potential outlets to receive an expanded selection of Craftsman tools include Amazon, Walmart, and other regional and national hardware chains.

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Unless they are going to start making Craftsman tools in the USA again not much can help them , there is quite a difference in USA made Craftsman tools and Chinese made Craftsman hand tools .

Thats the death-nail for Sears. As Craftsman brand has greatly diminished because production has moved to China( as has all B&D tools I believe, sadly DeWalt included so it'll fit right in) and other brands like Snap-On, Kobalt, Matco have changed tool distribution and kicked Sears's butt, Craftsman was the ONLY reason I even walked through Sears on my way through the local mall.

I've been buying Kolbalt here lately. I don't have to go to a derelict crumbling mall just to find that Sears doesn't have a soul at the cash register, and they seem better quality too.

Sears is going to have to abandon the mall stores, setup smaller local places and concentrate on appliances, tools and lawn equipment. The rest of their shit is a money sucking black hole.

I doubt they are around long enough to do that, this seems like a last gasp effort for the board to cash out some bonuses before they slip under the waves for good.

They never even tried to evolve.

Here is a good article about sears and amazon , basically the jist of it is sears had everything it needed to transition to an amazon business model but they dropped the ball and amazon ran with it .
http://fortune.com/2012/01/09/how-amazon-ate-sears-lunch/

Sear's Chairman Eddie Lampert bit off more than he could chew. He was an hedge fund investor and thought he could do a Warren Buffet value purchase but instead got stuck holding the bag. He owned so much he took over the helm. He figured he was smart and could turn the company around but he forgot he wasn't a retail guru. During the housing bubble he tried to convince the market that Sear's real estate should make it more valuable but that didn't fly either. He kept buying more stock but the price kept falling. He found his huckleberry.

I read these Craftsman articles, now every add I see is for some Craftsman tool and my email is full of Sears propaganda....

Crazy how fast that works these days. And another reason I'll never have one of those Echo/Google thingies in my house listening 24/7....I'm tracked far too much as it is already.

I will a bit sad when Sears is gone. It's only a matter of time. I realize Sears is at fault for not evolving with the time's, but in my opinion, they aren't entirely to blame. All brick and mortar stores are facing the same problem. They can't compete with the variety and prices of online retailers that don't have the overhead to deal with. I was just reading an article about how Sears will be closing 150 stores this year and was thankful the one near me was not on the list. However I was also a bit surprised that it wasn't for a few reasons. I've seen a lot of people complaining about how the stores look, and how customer service is lacking. And again I say it's not entirely their fault. I believe it has as much to do with the clientele as the management of the stores. Which is why I was a bit surprised the Sears neare me (for now) survived. Unfortunately the Sears neare me is often a bit trashed because of being so close to the undesired clientele. The employees try but it can be hard. Which is another thing online retailers don't have deal with. The undesired clientele that leads me to even more problems online retailers don't have. Loss prevention. Sears just lost a sale to me because of their loss prevention and I can't say I blame them for it. A week ago I went there to buy new work boots. They had Wolverine boots on sale that I was interested in. However I couldn't try them on because of the electronic tag on them that sounds the alarm if they go out the door without being removed. So I ended up spending more somewhere else for the same boots because of the problem Sears has in that location. Which is why I say their problems aren't entirely self imposed. Unfortunately Sears, and all stores have a society problem as much as a management problem IMO. There is a lot more to say about the changing society brick and mortar faces but I don't type fast enough on my phone to get to that now.

By the way,. I also miss Montgomery Ward.

Sears took the term "anchor" store for a mall too seriously, the malls crumble and close around them, and they remain, zero traffic, crappy service, with things you can't buy.

They could have moved and evolved with the changing demographics around them, but they didn't.

Wards was basically Sears without Craftsman or Kenmore.

Now Sears is basically Wards.

And we all know how that one ended.

Sears didnt evolve because the people at the top made enough money and didnt care even if they saw it coming.

The best thing Eddie could do is do what Bill Ford Jr. did and hire someone or someones to run the company. Bill Ford Jr. tried and realized he was over his head and went out looking and got Alan Mulally.

We used to have a Sears Outlet here but it closed a few years ago. I wasn't surprised to see our Sears wasn't on the list as our mall is still very busy and just got an updating after a few decades. Our KMart closed last year which was long overdue, it was a dead mans zone for years.

I think it would help if Sears starting sending out the famous catalogs again. It certainly couldn't hurt!

It's funny that you mentioned anchor stores. Malls in general are having a hard time finding ways to stay viable in the changing market. And one of the ways they are finding is dropping large department stores is more profitable for them. Because they can put 2 to 10 other stores and restaurants in the same space as the department stores used to take up. I think you have the right idea about smaller stores.

"I think it would help if Sears starting sending out the famous catalogs again. It certainly couldn't hurt!"


Could remind people they have more to offer than wrenches and freezers.

Scout wrote:

It's funny that you mentioned anchor stores. Malls in general are having a hard time finding ways to stay viable in the changing market. And one of the ways they are finding is dropping large department stores is more profitable for them. Because they can put 2 to 10 other stores and restaurants in the same space as the department stores used to take up. I think you have the right idea about smaller stores.

The rise of strip malls.

I needed a part for our sears vacuum cleaner. I'd compare pricing at Sears and Amazon and viola, the part would be a fraction at Amazon.

The old Monkey Wards brings back memories.

Last item we got from Sears was a Craftsman self propelled lawn mower a couple years ago. They had a hell of a sale going, 279 or so...damn fine mower. Went up there to get it, couldn't get a soul to help. Asked around. Nothing....

Came back home, ordered it on-line, 5 minutes later I get an email that its ready for pickup, the wife heads up there, 2 minutes later shes on the way home with it. Stockroom jockey was the only person we dealt with and the only one there that gave a shit,

Yesterday, I get an email on the same mower, offering me a service plan on it. 2 yrs. $400 plus....lol.

I have my Craftsman riding mower since 2002. It's starting to show its age, but only because I got lazy and made the kids use it to cut the grass. Twice my son Mike was brought home by the police when they caught him at the Wendys Drive thru on the mower while towing the trailer with 2 friends in the back.

Sears catalog memories , the catolog arrives in the mail and I go straight to the bra and panties section to look at the fine ladies then get down to buisiness in the toy section , childhood priorities .

As far as I can tell our local Sears isn't on the list. But looking at recent news stories shows the trend. Sears is on its back and quickly succumbing.

No wonder sears is in trouble , I just literally walked up to their front door and they open at noon on a Sunday , I figured I would buy some craftsman adapters and u joints before I go to see star wars , no bueno .

With the sale of Craftsman tools and other products, Sears was able to get 1 billion in cash to shore up their business. I won't count them out yet, but they have to change a lot to compete. As the tools were not of yesteryear quality, they will still sell them.

TheQuig wrote:

With the sale of Craftsman tools and other products, Sears was able to get 1 billion in cash to shore up their business. I won't count them out yet, but they have to change a lot to compete. As the tools were not of yesteryear quality, they will still sell them.

I think the sale will only delay the inevitable- it's like selling your own blood/body parts in order to pay the rent. Craftsman, especially their mechanic's tools, had a loyal following and for good reasons. Quality tools, made in the U.S., sold at more than competitive prices and with a great guarantee was tough to beat. Haven't been in a Sears in years .... crappy customer service drove me away. And don't get me started on trying to get Kenmore appliances serviced (they came with the house). Used to buy lots of stuff (tools, clothes, batteries, shocks) from Sears but each year it became less and less until now it is almost nothing.  If I need a Craftsman ratchet repaired or screwdriver replaced I can go to the local Ace Hardware, a 4 mile trip instead of what used to be an hour one. Expanding their distribution like that was a smart move imho but selling out to Stanley Black and Decker is not. Stanley B&D is all about the bottom line and not much else. They have the habit of taking what were serious hobbyist/ professional tools and turning them into lowball homeowner junk- Delta (since sold off) and Porter Cable are two examples. I don't think it bodes well for Craftsman.

I think DeWalt is the one bright spot. Originally DeWalt made nothing but radial arm saws and they were good ones. Black & Decker sold the radial arm saw line off in 1989 but retained the DeWalt name. The current DeWalt began in 1990 as a rebranding/ marketing effort in order to save Black & Decker's industrial line which were good tools but tainted by the homeowner junk B&D was pushing out. It worked. Early DeWalts were nothing more than the grey B&D industrial line now made in yellow and black along with some great marketing.  DeWalt still caters to pros and it shows. And they've even moved some manufacturing back to the U.S.

And fwiw those radial arm saws are still being made- in Iowa by the Original Saw Company. Still a real All American industrial tool and you pay for it ... $4K and up. http://originalsaw.com/index.php

I have had my 18 volt Dewalt for what has to be 20 years now and the only thing I have done to it was a replace the chuck , I think yota-fan bought one around the same time as I did and I think he still has it too .

I've used my DeWalt xrp 18 volt for about 9 years and so far not one problem. As far as the craftsman hand tools, mine have been good to me. About 20 years ago I got one of the craftsman 270ish piece mechanic sets. So far the only problem I have had is a messed up ratchet. But in fairness, I was using it for something I should have grabbed a 1\2 to do. They are not the best, and far from the worst. For the price and warranty it's tough to beat. I've been using the diehard batteries for a long time and they have all lasted at least 10 years. I don't know that Kenmore is what it used to be. I bought a very expensive Kenmore fridge from Sears and have had many issues with it. However I don't know that it's any more issues than I have seen complaints on with other high-end Brands such as Samsung. I really do hope they get it together and find a way to stay solvent. Like I said, I would be sad to see them go. It has been my One Stop Shop for a lot of things that I have needed that other stores just don't have. Of course this is also before the rise of Lowe's and Home Depot.

Hilux wrote:

I have had my 18 volt Dewalt for what has to be 20 years now and the only thing I have done to it was a replace the chuck , I think yota-fan bought one around the same time as I did and I think he still has it too .

Ten years ago I was in construction (trim carpenter) and I saw more yellow and black on jobsites than anything else- they hold up. Makita wasn't too far behind. A DeWalt DW717 sliding compound miter saw is on my wish list. Hitachi sliders (C10FSB) were common back then- reliable and accurate but then they switched production from Japan to China and by many accounts are no longer either reliable or accurate.

As for mechanic's tools I've got a motley mix- started out with Craftsman mostly, with some Snap On, Blue Point, S.K. Wayne and a set of Stanley combo wrenches thrown in for good measure.

Most of my hand tools are Craftsman from years ago. When I married my wife 24 years ago, she had a nice and full tool box of both metric and standard sockets and wrenches. We still have most today.
The only Dewalt tool I have is their grinder. It's held up well to my sons abuse.

As a general contractor I've pretty much seen all brands on the jobs. DeWalt wins with miter saws hands down. I'd have to go with Makita on circular saws even though I have a 15 yo DeWalt. I bought the Makita last year after using one, just feels right. Had practically all brands of cordless drill/impact drivers, they all outlasted the batteries. Went with Rigid because of the lifetime warranty, even on batteries. When I was a machinist, 20+ years ago, a local die cast mfr making bases for DeWalt miter saws had me program a CNC machining center for them. As a bonus I was able to buy a sliding compound miter saw for a few hundred bucks. I only used it a few times before figuring out it was too bulky and heavy to be moving job to job. Sold it for a hefty profit though. Anything too big to cut on my 12" miter saw can be cut easier with a circular saw anyway.

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/03/22/521143468/can-sears-survive-maybe-not-company-admits-in-financial-filings

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.yahoo.com/amphtml/finance/news/sears-bigger-problem-plunging-sales-141655267.html

Looks like it's all but official. I will miss them when they are gone.

It's a death blow when suppliers refuse to risk inventory at Sears stores.

Walmart was the retail warning shot; Amazon was the devil and once the competition is dead Amazon will ratchet their prices up.