I'm not the guy that really cares about coo; if it works it works. The problem I have with certain brands is that they ship the work off to another factory in another country and the price either stays the same or increases while the quality tends to decrease. To me, that means they're cutting corners in production so executives can get more gold plated shark tanks.
I know where it comes from (cough...consultants...cough) and was part of that "industry" for a while. Unlike most of the guys on here I'm not an off the shelf mechanic I was doing other things before I started.
About the gearwrench thing. Their "gear" wrenches are china now (as far as I know). I absolutely don't have anything against apex or their subsidiaries except for the fact that their consolidation has been bad for tool manufacturers because you get what they're doing with gearwrench. They're using the legacy of the brand (which were decent quality tools for intermediate mechanics) and turning it into ****. However, it was probably the case that the brand itself was a mirage in that most of their tools were was probably contracted manufacturing in taiwan. The quality of the tools was not the brand but the manufacturer. If the manufacturer changes to a manufacturer with lower quality offerings, honestly it shouldn't be trusted doesn't matter where it's made.
If you're outsourcing (even from taiwan to china) for cost and the msrp remains the same then there was no tangible reason for that outsourcing except to pad someone's pocket.
If harbor freight can offer what is probably the same thing from the same manufacturer (though people say otherwise I don't believe it) there's no reason that apex couldn't keep sourcing from them. ZERO REASON except gold plated shark tanks. I don't reward companies that basically are doing bad things for their customers. Even though gearwrench junkies won't admit it...if they ever need to warranty swap one of their taiwan line for a chinese line they're not going to be happy. No bones about it, Apex is turning gearwrench into a dump line (one of their low end lines), that means more availability but lower quality before they completely kill the line.
End rant.
I really have no interest in getting into an argument on this topic, but I think you draw a lot of conclusions based on assumptions that are not validated, and perhaps even contrary to reality. You make the assumption that cost of manufacturing is static and that profit margins remain the same; they are not... rising costs of fuel, human resources, raw materials, etc. are dynamic and continue to change. I absolutely despise the board room nepotism of US corporate culture, so no disagreements on corporate executives exploiting the system to fill their own pockets. But, in the bigger picture of company's overall operating revenues, profit margins, etc., executive compensation is a small percentage and not enough of a driving force to push for outsourcing initiatives or driving down manufacturing costs. Also keep in mind, there is nothing wrong with a business trying to drive for larger profit margins; if you were on the benefiting end of those higher profit margins, i'm sure you wouldn't disagree. But other than who's making more money, successful businesses that have money in the bank are also the ones more likely to innovate which over time delivers better products to the end customers. I so happen to believe Gearwrench is one of those companies that has been investing their cash into R&D and producing new innovative products and they've been doing this for quite some time. A US patent search on Gearwrench's parent companies will reveal this or a simple review of their product offerings will too. R&D does not come cheap. Have you thought about these things?
This is all contrary to your claim that Apex is milking the legacy of the Gearwrench brand, they are continuing to release new products, re-work their product lines, add new innovative product lines, expanding their sales channels, etc. This is hardly the behavior of a company that is milking the legacy of a brand or demoting the positioning of the brand... if you want to see a brand that is being milked for its legacy value, perhaps do a search around here on Craftsman?
You some how think that Apex/Gearwrench is doing bad things for their customers? So, are you saying that the Gearwrench 120XP ratchets was a bad thing for customers? Where else do you find a fairly high quality fine tooth ratchet at those price points? When Gearwrench runs their BOGO deals through the various retail channels and I can get a complete set of ratcheting wrenches for a fraction of the cost of a truck brand equivalent, are they ruining my life? When Gearwrench offers a very affordable and high quality ratcheting screwdriver set (
http://toolguyd.com/gearwrench-ratcheting-screwdriver-set-sale/) that make Snap-on fans wondering why they paid 6x more, is that doing bad things for their customers? Who are these customers that Apex/Gearwrench is doing bad things to? No company is perfect, and some have many faults, but in the overall scheme of things, is Apex/Gearwrench really doing a bad thing? Or, are you simply fixating on the whole "warranty a Taiwan gearwrench gets you a chinese gearwrench" ? Is that your reason to say a company is doing bad things for their customers without considering the totality of what they are offering?
You also make assumptions about Gearwrench product quality diminishing and somehow associate that with COO changes? Let's put aside that they are releasing new innovative products, where do you find evidence that their existing or legacy product line quality has diminished over time? Where is there a comparison study of a ratcheting wrench from 2000 vs 2013? Just because folks on a forum such as this one, who all have their own biases, make a claim that some wrench broke, or the jaws spread or whatever else you can find, isn't proof of diminishing product quality. Pick any brand, any tool, and I can tell you that there is someone who has had a problem with it. There is no product line in the world that I know of that comes out of the factory with a 0% defect rate. I've seen more than a few posts around here with pictures of failed Snap-On tools, which is probably our most prestigious tool brand, but that doesn't mean Snap-On quality is going down the toilet.
when you think about all these different aspects of the Gearwrench brand, and do some actual research, I really don't know how you've drawn the conclusions you've drawn and ranted about here? but, like i said in the beginning, i've no interest in any argument here, feel free to believe what you believe; i really don't want to convince you otherwise just as much as I'm pretty sure I'll never agree with your conclusions.
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