FT Worth TX Craftsman Tool release

[Jtels85]

There is rarely inside Intel on here.

There are, however, most of the world's best would be CEOs, masquerading as plumbers, electricians, and retired guys.

No offense to plumbers, electricians, or retired guys.

Many CEO’s run companies into the ground and walk away with a golden parachute.

Just because someone has reached the top doesn’t mean they know what they’re doing. My former company is a prime example. They went from #1 in the industry to #3 within a matter of 3 years, ever since the old CEO retired and the new one took over. Employees are less happy and the resources we once had to do our jobs effectively were cut back. People are leaving in droves to go work for our competitors.

So yeah, I know certain folks making under $100k a year who could probably make better business decisions than the current ******* that’s in place.

 

[American Locomotive]

I think if SB&D made this "max effort", they could have definitely been building tools in a new plant right now. But let's look at it like this:

- You first need to decide what you're going to build in that plant, where it's going to go, what those assembly lines are going to take up for space, how many people you will need, what kind of permits you will require and so on. That alone is going to be months and months of engineering, research, analysis, number crunching and paper pushing.
- You then need to find a location, purchase land, have utilities run, and build the building. They didn't break ground on the plant until mid 2019, and the building wasn't finished until well into 2020.
- You then need to actually design and engineer the products you are going to build there. There will be lots of prototyping, refining, more prototypes and so on. Every single socket, wrench, whatever you want to build will have to be engineered and prototyped. This is a large undertaking.
- Once all of your products are engineered from a functional standpoint, you have to do the manufacturing engineering. You have to design production lines. You have to figure out what kind of equipment will be needed to manufacture those product, design molds, dies, casting lines, plating lines, machining lines, and so on. You also need to develop QA/QC procedures to make sure the stuff you make is good.
- You then need to procure all of that equipment. A lot of equipment of this nature is bespoke and made custom for each application, and often has very long lead times - even in "good times".
- Then once you have all the equipment installed, you need to make actual production prototypes. Work out the kinks and optimize everything.
- You need to make sure your raw materials suppliers (and other people in the supply chain) are ready to start supplying you for full-scale production.

Yes, some of this can happen concurrently, but much of it is dependent on another step being completed first. Like I said, if SB&B put 2,000 engineers and product planners on this - they could definitely be producing tools right now.

But 3-4 years to go from no product, no tooling, no building to a full product line sounds pretty reasonable to me.

 

[zendriver]

I think if SB&D made this "max effort", they could have definitely been building tools in a new plant right now. But let's look at it like this:

- You first need to decide what you're going to build in that plant, where it's going to go, what those assembly lines are going to take up for space, how many people you will need, what kind of permits you will require and so on. That alone is going to be months and months of engineering, research, analysis, number crunching and paper pushing.
- You then need to find a location, purchase land, have utilities run, and build the building. They didn't break ground on the plant until mid 2019, and the building wasn't finished until well into 2020.
- You then need to actually design and engineer the products you are going to build there. There will be lots of prototyping, refining, more prototypes and so on. Every single socket, wrench, whatever you want to build will have to be engineered and prototyped. This is a large undertaking.
- Once all of your products are engineered from a functional standpoint, you have to do the manufacturing engineering. You have to design production lines. You have to figure out what kind of equipment will be needed to manufacture those product, design molds, dies, casting lines, plating lines, machining lines, and so on. You also need to develop QA/QC procedures to make sure the stuff you make is good.
- You then need to procure all of that equipment. A lot of equipment of this nature is bespoke and made custom for each application, and often has very long lead times - even in "good times".
- Then once you have all the equipment installed, you need to make actual production prototypes. Work out the kinks and optimize everything.
- You need to make sure your raw materials suppliers (and other people in the supply chain) are ready to start supplying you for full-scale production.

Yes, some of this can happen concurrently, but much of it is dependent on another step being completed first. Like I said, if SB&B put 2,000 engineers and product planners on this - they could definitely be producing tools right now.

But 3-4 years to go from no product, no tooling, no building to a full product line sounds pretty reasonable to me.

If I have decided to restart a tool company product line, I think I would do all those things you mentioned simultaneously, not sequentially.

Besides it’s combination wrenches, pliers whatever. Chinese could probably have a reasonable product like that up and running within a few months.

This is SBD they have factories everywhere building almost exact same stuff.

They are rethinking this whole deal IMO, but then again this is 21st century America, so maybe producing a pair of pliers takes years.

 

[American Locomotive]

If I have decided to restart a tool company product line, I think I would do all those things you mentioned simultaneously, not sequentially.

Besides it’s combination wrenches, pliers whatever. Chinese could probably have a reasonable product like that up and running within a few months.

This is SBD they have factories everywhere building almost exact same stuff.

They are rethinking this whole deal IMO, but then again this is 21st century America, so maybe producing a pair of pliers takes years.

A lot of those things can't happen sequentially. You don't know how big your plant is going to be until you know how big the production lines are going to be. You don't know how big the production lines are going to be until you have the tools' manufacturing processes developed. You can't develop those until you engineer the tools. You can't engineer the tools until you know which tools you want to make. You don't know which tools you want to make until you've done the relevant market research and number crunching to see if they can even be made profitably here.

Now you can "rule of thumb" some of those things to get things done concurrently - but then that has its own set of problems - such as trying to fit a production line into a space rather than building a space around the production line.

It's not "restarting production" of an existing product, or firing up an existing production line. All of the original Apex craftsman tooling was scrapped long ago. This is a completely new product line - a completely new line of sockets, extensions, ratchets, wrenches, pliers, etc... Hundreds of tools that each need their own engineering, testing, prototyping, and tooling created.

This isn't an existing Taiwanese forging line where you're changing what brand name gets stamped in at the end.

This is a big undertaking. You cannot go from an empty dirt lot, with no plans, no engineering, no supply lines to a factory producing 200 different part numbers in a few months. That is not how manufacturing works.

 

[Junkdrawer Dog]

They are rethinking this whole deal IMO,

This is what I believe has happened. A lot of things have changed since 2017. The economy in general, market conditions for the hand tool industry, supply chain and and staffing issues, relationship with Lowe's, etc.. What we may see is a scaled back effort arriving much later than planned. That plant may end up producing more MAC and Proto products than it does Craftsman. Don't ask me for proof as I don't have any... just my crystal ball, lol!

 

[zendriver]

A lot of those things can't happen sequentially. You don't know how big your plant is going to be until you know how big the production lines are going to be. You don't know how big the production lines are going to be until you have the tools' manufacturing processes developed. You can't develop those until you engineer the tools. You can't engineer the tools until you know which tools you want to make. You don't know which tools you want to make until you've done the relevant market research and number crunching to see if they can even be made profitably here.

Now you can "rule of thumb" some of those things to get things done concurrently - but then that has its own set of problems - such as trying to fit a production line into a space rather than building a space around the production line.

It's not "restarting production" of an existing product, or firing up an existing production line. All of the original Apex craftsman tooling was scrapped long ago. This is a completely new product line - a completely new line of sockets, extensions, ratchets, wrenches, pliers, etc... Hundreds of tools that each need their own engineering, testing, prototyping, and tooling created.

This isn't an existing Taiwanese forging line where you're changing what brand name gets stamped in at the end.

This is a big undertaking. You cannot go from an empty dirt lot, with no plans, no engineering, no supply lines to a factory producing 200 different part numbers in a few months. That is not how manufacturing works

How long is SBD been in business? They’re not exactly reinventing the wheel

They could walk through the Proto factory into. “Let’s make wrenched that look like that only stamp craftsman on them” .

 

[American Locomotive]

How long is SBD been in business? They’re not exactly reinventing the wheel

They could walk through the Proto factory into. “Let’s make wrenched that look like that only stamp craftsman on them” .

I'm not saying they don't know how to do it.

I'm saying if you don't already have these things ready and waiting, they take a very long time to get rolling. You can't exactly go down to the local Ace Hardware and pick a 15,000 ton forging press off the shelf.

 

[Etchase]

Starting a greenfield tool factory in 2022 is pretty exciting. It will be interesting to see the improvements in manufacturing technology. We can compare to SK’s manufacturing for instance. Or Williams. Here is SK showing off their production just 11 years ago. Doesn’t seem current even for 11 years ago and probably lead to uncompetitive costs. This was just a few years after ideal opened a “new” factory for them.

 

[1982fxr]

Starting a greenfield tool factory in 2022 is pretty exciting. It will be interesting to see the improvements in manufacturing technology. We can compare to SK’s manufacturing for instance. Or Williams. Here is SK showing off their production just 11 years ago. Doesn’t seem current even for 11 years ago and probably lead to uncompetitive costs. This was just a few years after ideal opened a “new” factory for them.

As in greenfield tap and die?

 

[larry4406]

As in greenfield tap and die?

Greenfield = virgin earth, literally a green field. Starting from scratch.

 

[1982fxr]

Greenfield = virgin earth, literally a green field. Starting from scratch.

Ahhh lol

 

[Bubba Fett]

If I have decided to restart a tool company product line, I think I would do all those things you mentioned simultaneously, not sequentially.

Besides it’s combination wrenches, pliers whatever. Chinese could probably have a reasonable product like that up and running within a few months.

This is SBD they have factories everywhere building almost exact same stuff.

They are rethinking this whole deal IMO, but then again this is 21st century America, so maybe producing a pair of pliers takes years.

Contract manufacturing is easy to do. Pay someone else to stamp your logo on the same tools they make for every other brand. They can do it fast because there's really nothing much to do. Those companies are already in production, with factories already in place, already making similar tools.

Starting from scratch is the harder thing to do, especially in the post-pandemic economy. But once it is up and running, it is yours. You can make changes and improvements without having to concede to the contract manufacturers, who generally will not specialize too much as it will effect their output for other clients. Doing it locally means you can do your own thing, with unique features, and use feedback from actual users. Plus, by having local production, you can keep a close eye on quality control throughout the process.

But the Texas plant is up and running with about 300 people. They are doing something. What that ultimately will be, I'm not sure, but if I had to guess, they probably ran into issues with suppliers. If they don't have the steel or plastic to make something, then they can't make it. Delays happen. I don't think they went through all the effort to build a brand new plant just to stop now. There's also a possibility that they are making tools for MAC or Proto at the moment to help get caught up on backlog, or something like that. We can only guess, because their P-R department could be (and needs to be) a lot better.

With the recent news that they are streamlining their product offerings, and cutting positions, people automatically go in doom-mode, but honestly, it shouldn't be a surprise. They may simply be going with a "make it where you sell it" strategy, which a lot of companies are doing, because it eliminates variables that are beyond their control. The problem is that a lot of other companies are doing the same things, and the entire manufacturing industry is currently in a state of change to some degree.

I remain hopeful that we will see more domestic manufacturing and production, because I think companies have realized that simply paying someone else to make it is cheaper, but somewhat risky. What happens if that company goes under, or their shipments get stuck in a canal or lost in a storm, of if that company experiences a shutdown due to widespread illness, or if that company's country is invaded? The fact is we live in a world where any of those things can happen, or have already happened. Profits are great, but secure profits are better. If it takes time to get in that position, if can be frustrating for potential customers, but in the long run the payoff (in terms of products and profits) should be much better.

I'm just guessing here, and I could be completely wrong, but I don't think things are quite as bad as the doomsayers claim. It's a complicated process, and there are many factors involved, but the fact that SBD is making ANY effort at all - is a good thing.

 

[iamhomeless]

Contract manufacturing is easy to do. Pay someone else to stamp your logo on the same tools they make for every other brand. They can do it fast because there's really nothing much to do. Those companies are already in production, with factories already in place, already making similar tools.

Starting from scratch is the harder thing to do, especially in the post-pandemic economy. But once it is up and running, it is yours. You can make changes and improvements without having to concede to the contract manufacturers, who generally will not specialize too much as it will effect their output for other clients. Doing it locally means you can do your own thing, with unique features, and use feedback from actual users. Plus, by having local production, you can keep a close eye on quality control throughout the process.

But the Texas plant is up and running with about 300 people. They are doing something. What that ultimately will be, I'm not sure, but if I had to guess, they probably ran into issues with suppliers. If they don't have the steel or plastic to make something, then they can't make it. Delays happen. I don't think they went through all the effort to build a brand new plant just to stop now. There's also a possibility that they are making tools for MAC or Proto at the moment to help get caught up on backlog, or something like that. We can only guess, because their P-R department could be (and needs to be) a lot better.

With the recent news that they are streamlining their product offerings, and cutting positions, people automatically go in doom-mode, but honestly, it shouldn't be a surprise. They may simply be going with a "make it where you sell it" strategy, which a lot of companies are doing, because it eliminates variables that are beyond their control. The problem is that a lot of other companies are doing the same things, and the entire manufacturing industry is currently in a state of change to some degree.

I remain hopeful that we will see more domestic manufacturing and production, because I think companies have realized that simply paying someone else to make it is cheaper, but somewhat risky. What happens if that company goes under, or their shipments get stuck in a canal or lost in a storm, of if that company experiences a shutdown due to widespread illness, or if that company's country is invaded? The fact is we live in a world where any of those things can happen, or have already happened. Profits are great, but secure profits are better. If it takes time to get in that position, if can be frustrating for potential customers, but in the long run the payoff (in terms of products and profits) should be much better.

I'm just guessing here, and I could be completely wrong, but I don't think things are quite as bad as the doomsayers claim. It's a complicated process, and there are many factors involved, but the fact that SBD is making ANY effort at all - is a good thing.

I work in an engineering and r&d facility, we design, prototype, test, and develop a product while simultaneously developing and refining what will eventually be line equipment that will be installed in a factory somewhere else. Then we move onto the next product. It's a lot of work, and everything is constantly in flux. We are currently working with a production facility getting them spooled up to take over one product while we are ramping up the next one.

I can only imagine how hard it is to get a while facility up and running without a proto lab to support you.

The streamlining statement is an interesting one and I am wondering if SBD is shifting away from factories for Craftsman Proto, Mac etc. and will instead focus on factories for specific products for various brands. Which is likely considering that the old Vidmar factory in Massachusetts is making Lista and Mac tool boxes as well.

What we know is that SBD has built a new US plant for Craftsman and bought another one, we know the old Waterloo plant has capabilities for making tool boxes, but don't know the capabilities of the Texas plant, and even if they are currently building tools for Craftsman of Mac or Proto. Which is something I would be very OK with, since I am waiting for MSC to get Proto screwdriver sets back in stock so I can order some.

No matter how you slice it, SBD is adding to their US manufacturing capabilities, and that is something that is important.

 

[PoorUB]

The Craftsman name carries more weight than a lot of people on here realize. And not just to old men.

And in my opinion, it is undeserved.

I have no issues with Craftsman, but no love for them either, just another tool name. I own some Craftsman. I don't think they are great tools, Sears just did a great job of promoting them and they are surviving off that.

I fail to understand why guys go nuts over the brand.

 

[iamhomeless]

And in my opinion, it is undeserved.

I have no issues with Craftsman, but no love for them either, just another tool name. I own some Craftsman. I don't think they are great tools, Sears just did a great job of promoting them and they are surviving off that.

I fail to understand why guys go nuts over the brand.

Craftsman was the original ProSumer tool brand, good enough to get you started in any trade, and nice enough to keep at home after you upgraded to a more professional level of tool.

For people who don't actually use tools everyday Craftsman was nicer than what they needed and they see it as a status symbol, since that's the same brand that their uncle keeps at home, even if he has pro tools at work.

For guys that use tools everyday, it's nostalgia, Craftsman was likely to be the set that made us the money to buy nicer tools, and hose wrenches and ratchets remind us of the days we were cutting our teeth and when you could buy an American made tool on a Sunday after church.

 

[PoorUB]

Craftsman was the original ProSumer tool brand, good enough to get you started in any trade, and nice enough to keep at home after you upgraded to a more professional level of tool.

Sure, but there are a hundred different tool brands that fit need today. They just don't have a history of Bob Villa commercials.

Sears did a fantastic job promoting Craftsman, other than that they are not anything great.

Also, other than their hand tools much of the Craftsman line was poor quality. Anything with a power cord was below average, IMO.

Just great promotion.

 

[Fedwrench]

Sure, but there are a hundred different tool brands that fit need today. They just don't have a history of Bob Villa commercials.

Sears did a fantastic job promoting Craftsman, other than that they are not anything great.

Also, other than their hand tools much of the Craftsman line was poor quality. Anything with a power cord was below average, IMO.

Just great promotion.

Marketing is everything. However, back in the day, SEARS were everywhere. Additionally, prior to amazon and online ordering, the Sears Catalog, and the Craftsman tool catalogs were what you used to buy from. Leaving the tool trucks out of of the equation, there was craftsman from Sears, and whatever brand your local auto parts store sold. Where I grew up in sunny California, that meant New Britain from NAPA and SK or KD from many of the others. I've said it before but, what made Craftsman a big seller was their pennies per piece set pricing and their warranty.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Many CEO’s run companies into the ground and walk away with a golden parachute.

AT&T has had about a bunch of CEOs over the past 20 years. Most have lasted only a few years. T has gone from the premier "widows and orphans" stock (never missed a dividend, increased dividend annually for over 25) to an "also ran". I dumped what little I had left this year.

"Fast Eddie" Lampert was even better. He drove Kmart-Sears into bankruptcy and then convinced the courts if he could buy them back for pennies on the dollar he could save it. When was the last time you saw an open Kmart or Sears store ?

 

[TheToolEnthusiast]

"Fast Eddie" Lampert was even better. He drove Kmart-Sears into bankruptcy and then convinced the courts if he could buy them back for pennies on the dollar he could save it. When was the last time you saw an open Kmart or Sears store ?

Sadly there are now fewer than 2 dozen stores nationwide down from their peak of 3500+. I was in a Sears about a month ago and it’s a sad state of affairs to say the least.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Sadly there are now fewer than 2 dozen stores nationwide down from their peak of 3500+. I was in a Sears about a month ago and it’s a sad state of affairs to say the least.

Metro Detroit had DOZENS of one or the other. Kmart #1 was a few miles from where I live.

 

[PoorUB]

"Fast Eddie" Lampert was even better. He drove Kmart-Sears into bankruptcy and then convinced the courts if he could buy them back for pennies on the dollar he could save it. When was the last time you saw an open Kmart or Sears store ?

I would like to know what Eddie's plan was? It seemed to me he was determined to kill Sears and then Kmart. I remember reading something that he thought the real estate was worth more than the company, or something to that effect. Either way I don't think he ever planned of making Sears great again.

And then the "merger: between Kameapart and Sears. Who in their right mind would think merging two failing companies was a great idea? Well, other than Eddie!

 

[PoorUB]

Marketing is everything. However, back in the day, SEARS were everywhere.

Trust me, I know! I grew up a poor black child on a small farm in NW Minnesota. Most of the stuff in the house and shop came from Sears.

Some guys would twitch knowing I got my dad's Craftsman combination end wrench set that be bought in the early 60's, 3/8" to 1". I gave it to my nephew. He probably pawned it for all I know!

 

[Bubba Fett]

Eddie Lampert is a rotten scumbag who ran Sears into the ground while lining his own pockets.

 

[Jtels85]

It’s apparent that the current people at SB&D know nothing about the history of the brand and the emotional attachment people have to it. If they did, things would certainly be different.

If you don’t understand the emotional attachment, then it’s not for you to understand. Go play with your SnapOn and stay out of the discussion.

We’re also aware that “this isn’t your fathers Craftsman”. Cool reminder, bro.

I think there are a few of us “wannabe CEO’s” out there who could have rolled out Craftsman at Lowe’s in a way that would have more effectively tugged at people’s heart strings. People see the name and they want the memories and the nostalgia. They know the name because it’s the tool brand their fathers and grandfathers used. I’m 38 and it’s the brand I used growing up, working on my bike and my cars. This Craftsman today is just another corporate brand in an already overcrowded hand tool market. I don’t look at it the same way as I did at Sears. They missed many opportunities to play that off and make it work to their advantage.

One of the first things I would have done as the largest tool manufacturer in the world is found a way to make those clear handle Craftsman screwdrivers in the USA again as quickly as possible, then make the entire package from corner to corner look like one big, wavy American flag. Stick them in cardboard displays throughout Lowe’s and watch them sell like hot cakes.

 

[zendriver]

Sears itself and the Craftsman brand would be doing fine today, is customers continued to shop there.

But they didn't.

It's not fast Eddie's fault, the blame belongs to Sam Walton and Al Gore, (who invented the Internet).

As far as running a profitable company, EMO does not usually fit into the picture.

 

[iamhomeless]

Sears itself and the Craftsman brand would be doing fine today, is customers continued to shop there.

But they didn't.

It's not fast Eddie's fault, the blame belongs to Sam Walton and Al Gore, (who invented the Internet).

As far as running a profitable company, EMO does not usually fit into the picture.

When Sears started building department stores in downtowns districts, they started putting pressure on the small town stores that used to be the outlet for ordering from their catalogs.

When they started moving to the malls they pulled traffic away from those downtowns making it harder for small local stores to compete.

Walmart building on the edge of town just did to sears, what sears had done to local stores for years.

Both companies ignored the early internet and let amazon make a market they had to compete against.

Government policies had a huge roll in the death of sears and American business. While the later financial incentives for offshoring manufacturing and importing products was a major blow, but earlier tax and social policies are what drove consumers to prefer to shop in the mall instead of downtowns, and later at the Walmart on the edge of town instead of the mall, and finally people would rather shop from their couch than deal with the public.

But even if Sears executives had grown a brain and remembered their roots as a Mail order catalog and become the first online behemoth, they still might not of lasted, and certainly wouldn't be the same company they were. The weakening of the blue collar and middle class wages opened the demand for cheap foreign goods, causing weakness in US manufacturing, which meant more US companies started off shoring production, killing American jobs, and making the tailspin faster. Sears would have the same reputation for cheap junk that Amazon has now, and Craftsman would have still ended up as the Chinese **** it was at the end of the sears ownership run.

 

[1982fxr]

And in my opinion, it is undeserved.

I have no issues with Craftsman, but no love for them either, just another tool name. I own some Craftsman. I don't think they are great tools, Sears just did a great job of promoting them and they are surviving off that.

I fail to understand why guys go nuts over the brand.

Uhhhh what is your point?

You're looking really hard for someone to argue with.

 

[CHI_Tool&Die]

It’s apparent that the current people at SB&D know nothing about the history of the brand and the emotional attachment people have to it. If they did, things would certainly be different.

If you don’t understand the emotional attachment, then it’s not for you to understand. Go play with your SnapOn and stay out of the discussion.

We’re also aware that “this isn’t your fathers Craftsman”. Cool reminder, bro.

I think there are a few of us “wannabe CEO’s” out there who could have rolled out Craftsman at Lowe’s in a way that would have more effectively tugged at people’s heart strings. People see the name and they want the memories and the nostalgia. They know the name because it’s the tool brand their fathers and grandfathers used. I’m 38 and it’s the brand I used growing up, working on my bike and my cars. This Craftsman today is just another corporate brand in an already overcrowded hand tool market. I don’t look at it the same way as I did at Sears. They missed many opportunities to play that off and make it work to their advantage.

One of the first things I would have done as the largest tool manufacturer in the world is found a way to make those clear handle Craftsman screwdrivers in the USA again as quickly as possible, then make the entire package from corner to corner look like one big, wavy American flag. Stick them in cardboard displays throughout Lowe’s and watch them sell like hot cakes.

I wonder if Lowes was the wrong plan from the start. Craftsman has a much larger presence at Ace and now it’s popping up at NAPA and even at Grainger and MSC. I’m wondering if the plan should have been to use Ace as an anchor and forget about Lowes. Lowes has so many issues right now that I don’t believe shelf presence there has helped Craftsman.

 

[PoorUB]

Uhhhh what is your point?

You're looking really hard for someone to argue with.

Nope, not looking for an arguement, just trying to understand why there is such a follow for an average tool brand.

 

[four.cycle]

^ Occam's Razor:

Craftsman is the World's most recognized tool brand.

In sales and marketing, BRAND is everything. Product quality and country of origin are irrelevant to the consumer. BRAND is all.

I submit: Adidas, Reebok, PINK, Tommy Hilfiger, Cadillac.

It doesn't matter one little bit if the wrench is made out of old cheese in a cave by slave laborers in the Republic of Chad - if you stamp "CRAFTSMAN" on it, it will SELL at Home Depot or Lowes.

 

[zendriver]

^ Occam's Razor:

Craftsman is the World's most recognized tool brand.

In sales and marketing, BRAND is everything. Product quality and country of origin are irrelevant to the consumer. BRAND is all.

I submit: Adidas, Reebok, PINK, Tommy Hilfiger, Cadillac.

It doesn't matter one little bit if the wrench is made out of old cheese in a cave by slave laborers in the Republic of Chad - if you stamp "CRAFTSMAN" on it, it will SELL at Home Depot or Lowes.

I see folks regularly walking out of HF with cartloads of stuff, while the Cman items at Lowes are literally covered in dust.

 

[Junkdrawer Dog]

Maybe SBD hitched their wagon to the wrong horse?

 

[1982fxr]

Nope, not looking for an arguement, just trying to understand why there is such a follow for an average tool brand.

It's just an iconic brand of goods.

Like...John Deere.

 

[Bubba Fett]

Sears itself and the Craftsman brand would be doing fine today, is customers continued to shop there.

But they didn't.

It's not fast Eddie's fault, the blame belongs to Sam Walton and Al Gore, (who invented the Internet).

As far as running a profitable company, EMO does not usually fit into the picture.

The company was weak, before he came along, but it wasn't beyond saving. A competent and experienced leader could have easily brought the company back. Eddie Lampert divided Sears into dozens of companies, each with their own management structure, all competing and fighting for the same resources, resulting in the Sears as a whole literally fighting itself. He then sold off store property to himself, and then charged Sears rent on those properties ( a CLEAR conflict of interest), further sucking away profits from the company. He had no strategy, no goals, other than to make as much money off the company as he could while the stores were closing left and right, and employees and contractors lost their jobs. His actions were intentional and deliberate.

 

[larry4406]

So here we are at Post 75 with not one bit of factual info short of nothing has been released yet.

 

[zendriver]

The company was weak, before he came along, but it wasn't beyond saving. A competent and experienced leader could have easily brought the company back. Eddie Lampert divided Sears into dozens of companies, each with their own management structure, all competing and fighting for the same resources, resulting in the Sears as a whole literally fighting itself. He then sold off store property to himself, and then charged Sears rent on those properties ( a CLEAR conflict of interest), further sucking away profits from the company. He had no strategy, no goals, other than to make as much money off the company as he could while the stores were closing left and right, and employees and contractors lost their jobs. His actions were intentional and deliberate.

Says who?

Almost every department store chain that ever existed, today is either dead (or on life support), with the malls that they were in, (on that expensive real-estate), literally drying up and blowing away.

Eddie Lampert is not dumb. If he could have made more money "saving" Sears, that is exactly what he would be doing.

At the end of the day, it is (or was) a business.

 

[zendriver]

So here we are at Post 75 with not one bit of factual info short of nothing has been released yet.

Well, with new products that apparently have to be "cloaked in secrecy", this all all anyone has to work with.

My guess is that they realized that no matter what they end up doing, it will be too little-too late, with most people (if they even care at all) bitching about the price or the "look and feel", of the products.

 

[PoorUB]

Says who?

Almost every department store chain that ever existed, today is either dead (or on life support), with the malls that they were in, (on that expensive real-estate), literally drying up and blowing away.

Eddie Lampert is not dumb. If he could have made more money "saving" Sears, that is exactly what he would be doing.

At the end of the day, it is (or was) a business.

I agree that brick and mortar stores are having a tough time, but Sears coud have evolved into something similar to Amazon, instead of just killing the company.

IMO, it was very short sighted. They were a giant at one time, no reason they could not have continued. The management just has to has their eyes open a roll with the change in market. Cripes it wasn't that long ago they were the mail order giant.

I had a vision of Sears decreasing the size of their department stores greatly, almost to the point of the small Sears "Home" stores and then promoting the hell out of online ordering and free freight to the store, or ship to home and chaarge for freight.

But seriously, I am sure that Eddie had no desire to keep Sears going, he just wanted to strip the company of the real estate and kill it.

 

[Junkdrawer Dog]

My guess is that they realized that no matter what they end up doing, it will be too little-too late, with most people (if they even care at all) bitching about the price or the "look and feel", of the products.

Not to be all morbid and everything but...I believe SBD acquired the brand in 2017? Here we are five years later with no (or few) USA made tools to show for it. Think of all the potential customers of a certain age who passed on or otherwise aged out of the market in that time. These were potential customers with a real affinity for the brand. It won't be too many more years before the brand recognition becomes nonexistent. Yes, too little - too late.

 

[zendriver]

Not to be all morbid and everything but...I believe SBD acquired the brand in 2017? Here we are five years later with no (or few) USA made tools to show for it. Think of all the potential customers of a certain age who passed on or otherwise aged out of the market in that time. These were potential customers with a real affinity for the brand. It won't be too many more years before the brand recognition becomes nonexistent. Yes, too little - too late.

Not morbid, (Since we're not talking of smothering ailing Mom, for her inheritance) , it's a tools brand.

Certainly possible all the Covid19 fun, might have changed things considerably, with whatever they had in the works for Cman tools. We will all just wait and seen what happens.