Craftsman V Series...

[four.cycle]

Basically it boils down to my belief that SBD never really meant what they pledged when they bought the Craftsman brand from kmart.

^ First of all, they didn't buy it from Kmart. They bought it from Eddie Lampert.
Second, your comment is somewhat specious - they most certainly DID intend originally to manufacture tools in the U.S., but it didn't work out for reasons which have been repeated several times in this thread.

So... exactly what is your beef?
You're unhappy because you can't buy U.S. made Craftsman at some imaginary "mid-tier" price?
What exactly is "mid-tier" pricing?

A loaf of bread is $6 - at COSTCO.
I paid $9.19 for a tube of toothpaste on Saturday.

So what's a reasonable "mid-tier" price for a 3/8" drive RHFT ratchet? You think you should still be able to pick one up for $20 bucks?
You can have that ratchet for $20 bucks at Lowes. Craftsman "V". What's the problem?
You want U.S. made?
You can have this lovely U.S. made 45170 S-K for only $66.00
What's not to like?

Go ahead - tell me that $66.00 is "too high" when a loaf of bread is $6.00.

I'm all ears.

 

[Ohio Andy]

Craftsman literally had a “Craftsman Professional” range of tools at Sears for at least 20 years, many of which were well regarded, including on GJ.
The Craftsman Professional range of tools were not always US made, but generally were very good tools, and usually rebrands of actual industrial brand tools.
The Craftsman Professional hacksaw for instance, was a rebranded Bahco high leverage quick blade release hacksaw, made by Bahco, and currently sold under the Snap-On brand.
The Craftsman Professional Flare wrenches were rebranded SK Superkrome flare wrenches.
The Craftsman Crossforce wrenches, were rebranded Armstrong Maxx wrenches, although with a thinner plating, and without the jaw notch.
Facom, one of the current makers of the V-series tools, and Knipex, also supplied tools to the Craftsman professional range.

Stanley is just trying to give the best marketing to the Craftsman range as possible, while still having affordable tools for the general consumer.
So the discerning tool buyer can purchase the V-series range, and the average consumer can buy the regular range, which seems to be decent enough quality, if not always absolutely top of the line.

Love the history and who made what

 

[Andres26tnt]

Your post was about the company want to be profitable, not the factory. You no understand!



Nonsense!



Black Friday is the day that retailers turn from red to black. It's embarassing that they performed sub par.

"I understand their misfortune with the Dallas plant. Why did they attempt such a grand experiment in a country with such high operating expenses? You would think that a company with hundreds of years (combined) of manufacturing, they would have had a better plan.

^^It was a reply to, but anyway go off . The company always wants it's factories to be profitable. Doesn't matter if the the company as a whole is doing good or bad. They will shutdown whatever looses money.

Black Friday is a holiday sale. Sales depends on many factors. Craftsman had the basic low level items on sale. Meaning not a very good savings. Only real good offers where the V line, Which sold out . This thread started because the poster couldn't find any, then ranted about it.

 

[Andres26tnt]

^ First of all, they didn't buy it from Kmart. They bought it from Eddie Lampert.
Second, your comment is somewhat specious - they most certainly DID intend originally to manufacture tools in the U.S., but it didn't work out for reasons which have been repeated several times in this thread.

So... exactly what is your beef?
You're unhappy because you can't buy U.S. made Craftsman at some imaginary "mid-tier" price?
What exactly is "mid-tier" pricing?

A loaf of bread is $6 - at COSTCO.
I paid $9.19 for a tube of toothpaste on Saturday.

So what's a reasonable "mid-tier" price for a 3/8" drive RHFT ratchet? You think you should still be able to pick one up for $20 bucks?
You can have that ratchet for $20 bucks at Lowes. Craftsman "V". What's the problem?
You want U.S. made?
You can have this lovely U.S. made 45170 S-K for only $66.00
What's not to like?

Go ahead - tell me that $66.00 is "too high" when a loaf of bread is $6.00.

I'm all ears.

I tried , not sure what he's arguing about. What is he willing to pay? 66$ is probably too high.

 

[four.cycle]

This thread started because the poster couldn't find any, then ranted about it.

Oh good Lord.
There's Craftsman "V" all over!
Try Lowes!
Try ACE!

If YOUR Lowes doesn't stock it, maybe you should consider relocating to a different part of the country.
ACE stores are all independently owned franchises and therefore are free to stock which brands they choose. Some stores stock different stuff.

I can assure you there is no shortage of "Craftsman V" over at Lowes at Center and Orchard.

You guys don't put your locations in your "profiles", so I have no clue where you're located, but off the top of my head, if you're living in BFE, there's a possibility your local retailer won't have it in stock.

 

[Andres26tnt]

Oh good Lord.
There's Craftsman "V" all over!
Try Lowes!
Try ACE!

If YOUR Lowes doesn't stock it, maybe you should consider relocating to a different part of the country.
ACE stores are all independently owned franchises and therefore are free to stock which brands they choose. Some stores stock different stuff.

I can assure you there is no shortage of "Craftsman V" over at Lowes at Center and Orchard.

You guys don't put your locations in your "profiles", so I have no clue where you're located, but off the top of my head, if you're living in BFE, there's a possibility your local retailer won't have it in stock.

There was stock in my area San Diego CA, it just went quick. Didn't even make it to the floor. I was able to buy most of what was missing from my first purchase a few months before. It's Avery successful sale, now craftsman has to fix the issues people had with the line. Mainly the "bad" ratchets and pricing.

 

[four.cycle]

^ Closest Lowes to me had about 30 linear feet of "Craftsman" stuff - about 60 inches high. First twenty feet was open-stock ratchets, breakers, drive tools, pliers, wrenches, below that open-stock drawers which contained sockets, on the opposite wall there was about 12 linear feet of mixed brands of pliers with some Craftsman mixed in, but not predominant. (Lots of Milwaukee, Klein, Kobalt.)
At least 8 feet of that 32 foot aisle was "Packout" stuff - injection-molded plastic boxes that stacked/nested together. Similar to that "Milwaukee Packout" system. (Takes up an enormous amount of display space and it didn't look to me like it was moving.
The "Craftsman" open stock stuff was definitely selling. I worked 27 years of retail - I know what "picked over" looks like.

Interestingly, Home Depot (which is literally across the street) had pretty much a completely different product mix, none of it Craftsman. Lots of DeWalt and Milwaukee, though. Real heavy on Milwaukee.

I made two or three trips to both of those stores during December (prior to Christas.) I spent very little at Lowes. More at Home Depot. But the biggest chunk went to Pratt Electric - they had better prices on Klein than either of the box stores.

I don't go into my closest ACE that often this time of year. They had a mess of Craftsman up there last time I was there - maybe two weeks ago. All locked up for the most part, as their shoplifting rate up there is off the charts.
They were blowing out those ****** 1/4" drive sets like the ones I gave Blake and Cody last year for $14.99 again.

This "doomsday" stuff is nonsense - pure and simple. They ran a promo FROM SBD to their "retail partners" - gave 'em the low-ball brother-in-law discount, probably dating terms and advertising money too, and got the product IN the stores, ON the shelf, and INTO the hands of the retail consumer. Brand recognition is ALL. (Think: Coca Cola, KFC)
SBD doesn't need to make a huge margin on Craftsman right now - they got lots of time. They also have a whole basket of other brands that will keep the wheels turning while they get the Craftsman off the ground and get the bugs ironed out.

They're not the largest tool manufacturer in the world because they don't know how to run a business.

 

[Andres26tnt]

^^^ I agree, I know those 1/4 kits aren't for everyone. They took steps to fix the ratchet. Yet they blow out all the time, not only in store, Amazon sell them the same. Absolutely delusional of you think craftsman is "failing". Not to mention the 99$ tool kits they sell all the time(tradestack/versa stack)

 

[Etchase]

I finally got around to reading SWK’s third quarter 10q and they have finally returned to profitability!! Their first profitable quarter since Q3 2022. Long battle and not much of a profit, but they have made commendable progress on achieving their goal of reducing costs by $2 billion by 2025, and have increased gross margins to over 30%, with a stated target of 35% next year. Pretty remarkable considering the intense foreign competition and changing trade circumstances. They increased prices far less than the CPI. Quite an achievement.

Stanley Black & Decker - Financials - Quarterly Results

ir.stanleyblackanddecker.com

 

[Ohio Andy]

Oh good Lord.
There's Craftsman "V" all over!
Try Lowes!
Try ACE!

If YOUR Lowes doesn't stock it, maybe you should consider relocating to a different part of the country.
ACE stores are all independently owned franchises and therefore are free to stock which brands they choose. Some stores stock different stuff.

I can assure you there is no shortage of "Craftsman V" over at Lowes at Center and Orchard.

You guys don't put your locations in your "profiles", so I have no clue where you're located, but off the top of my head, if you're living in BFE, there's a possibility your local retailer won't have it in stock.

I saw some near Columbus Ohio but most of what I wanted sold right away. I went to a bunch of different stores near Pontiac Michigan and found like nothing.

 

[rice rocket]

A loaf of bread is $6 - at COSTCO.

Go ahead - tell me that $66.00 is "too high" when a loaf of bread is $6.00.

What kinda fancy-*** bread are you buying?

Also, we know you're lying, because bread at Costco only comes in packs of two.

 

[Hakeem]

What kinda fancy-*** bread are you buying?

Also, we know you're lying, because bread at Costco only comes in packs of two.

Seriously, Nevermind the alleged $9 tube of toothpaste.

 

[four.cycle]

^ It was a single loaf. $5.99. Pretty much same anywhere you go now for a decent loaf of bread.
That same tube of toothpaste was $4.49 in 2009 when I was buying it at the Olympia Food Co-Op, so $9.19 seemed about right considering the prices on everything else.

 

[Toold_up]

^ First of all, they didn't buy it from Kmart. They bought it from Eddie Lampert.
Second, your comment is somewhat specious - they most certainly DID intend originally to manufacture tools in the U.S., but it didn't work out for reasons which have been repeated several times in this thread.

So... exactly what is your beef?
You're unhappy because you can't buy U.S. made Craftsman at some imaginary "mid-tier" price?
What exactly is "mid-tier" pricing?

A loaf of bread is $6 - at COSTCO.
I paid $9.19 for a tube of toothpaste on Saturday.

So what's a reasonable "mid-tier" price for a 3/8" drive RHFT ratchet? You think you should still be able to pick one up for $20 bucks?
You can have that ratchet for $20 bucks at Lowes. Craftsman "V". What's the problem?
You want U.S. made?
You can have this lovely U.S. made 45170 S-K for only $66.00
What's not to like?

Go ahead - tell me that $66.00 is "too high" when a loaf of bread is $6.00.

I'm all ears.

You must not be listening I never said anything about mid tier pricing. My beef is their lack of investment in America. They attempted an experimental manufacturing facility which failed. Then they shut down the DeWalt power tool plant, and now are boasting about their profit margins for DeWalt power tools (which used to be made here in America).

"
Turning to the product line performance for the third quarter. Power Tools declined 1% organically due to softness
in consumer and DIY brands. On the positive side, DEWALT cordless products grew in the quarter. Volume was
also supported by the initial holiday season sell-in across our priority brands. We are excited by a great lineup of
offerings that will be available to our end users in the fourth quarter."

 

[Odd-job]

I finally got around to reading SWK’s third quarter 10q and they have finally returned to profitability!! Their first profitable quarter since Q3 2022. Long battle and not much of a profit, but they have made commendable progress on achieving their goal of reducing costs by $2 billion by 2025, and have increased gross margins to over 30%, with a stated target of 35% next year. Pretty remarkable considering the intense foreign competition and changing trade circumstances. They increased prices far less than the CPI. Quite an achievement.

Stanley Black & Decker - Financials - Quarterly Results

ir.stanleyblackanddecker.com

Go SBD! Am wishing I made a move on those limited edition USA made sets that were on sale a while back.

This being said am not sure how much to read into GAAP profitability with the unfortunate prior life experience of being a CPA who has worked on plenty of SEC registered companies

Some numbers to keep things in perspective. SBD bought craftsman for ~$900m in 2017 and spent ~$90m on the Dallas factory. Goodwill on SBD's balance sheet is ~$8b - this means they buy a lot of other $hit (I wonder if they have written off the Porter Cable goodwill yet). Annual revenue is ~$15b which means the $1b invested in Craftsman is a rounding error.

Don't want to poke the bear, but those pissed off should be more pissed about the closure of these Dewalt plants:

Stanley Black & Decker Closing SC, TX Plants in Network Changes

Changes also will include U.S. site expansions, site transformations into manufacturing centers of excellence and site consolidation.

www.mdm.com

Those facilities sounded larger than that Craftsman automated facility and likely employed more workers.

 

[Toold_up]

Don't want to poke the bear, but those pissed off should be more pissed about the closure of these Dewalt plants:

Stanley Black & Decker Closing SC, TX Plants in Network Changes

Changes also will include U.S. site expansions, site transformations into manufacturing centers of excellence and site consolidation.

www.mdm.com

Those facilities sounded larger than that Craftsman automated facility and likely employed more workers.

I am upset about that. SBD made a big promise to invest in America when they bought the Craftsman brand. Since then, they have began shutting down American factories. The world biggest tool manufacturer (an American company) is selling out Americans!

I wonder if they shut down any factories in other countries? In their Q4 statement they said they are looking to consolidate factories into mostly Asia, India, and Mexico...

I'm not giving SBD any more of my money.

 

[mrjaw14]

You're unhappy because you can't buy U.S. made Craftsman at some imaginary "mid-tier" price?
What exactly is "mid-tier" pricing?

Just making up numbers, but if one can buy a ratchet for $15, another for $45, and another for $100...what hypothetically speaking would you call the option in the middle? is that imaginary or is that a descriptor of a middle of the road option?

Practically speaking, since this is surprisingly hard for people to comprehend

Cheapest import garbage = lowest tier
Tool truck service = highest tier

What's that leave? is there something in between those two options? what might that be considered?

Also there is no set dollar amount for mid tier. it's whatever the market is at the time and evolves over time. if mid-tier is $66 then so be it, and yes I've paid 45-160 for ratchets because I'm picky and want a certain level of quality.

 

[Odd-job]

I am upset about that. SBD made a big promise to invest in America when they bought the Craftsman brand. Since then, they have began shutting down American factories. The world biggest tool manufacturer (an American company) is selling out Americans!

I wonder if they shut down any factories in other countries? In their Q4 statement they said they are looking to consolidate factories into mostly Asia, India, and Mexico...

I'm not giving SBD any more of my money.

Unfortunately the downsides of capitalism and globalization. SBD as a global conglomerate and slave to its shareholders is no different from many others. Their CEO changed in 2022, but I doubt that really changed anything other than what was inevitable. Best we can do is vote with our wallets I suppose.

 

[Ohio Andy]

Just making up numbers, but if one can buy a ratchet for $15, another for $45, and another for $100...what hypothetically speaking would you call the option in the middle? is that imaginary or is that a descriptor of a middle of the road option?

Practically speaking, since this is surprisingly hard for people to comprehend

Cheapest import garbage = lowest tier
Tool truck service = highest tier

What's that leave? is there something in between those two options? what might that be considered?

Also there is no set dollar amount for mid tier. it's whatever the market is at the time and evolves over time. if mid-tier is $66 then so be it, and yes I've paid 45-160 for ratchets because I'm picky and want a certain level of quality.

I'm buying the titanium ratchet for $250

 

[Toold_up]

Unfortunately the downsides of capitalism and globalization. SBD as a global conglomerate and slave to its shareholders is no different from many others. Their CEO changed in 2022, but I doubt that really changed anything other than what was inevitable. Best we can do is vote with our wallets I suppose.

I wouldn't say that's a side effect of capitalism. It's more along the lines of unmoral companies. They could have shut down factories in other countries, but they chose to shut down the ones here.

Once upon a time companies invested in the communities where their facilities were located. DuPont for one opened colleges and had free tuition for the towns people. That is investing in America.

 

[mrjaw14]

I'm buying the titanium ratchet for $250

you've unlocked ultra-tier lol

 

[Odd-job]

I wouldn't say that's a side effect of capitalism. It's more along the lines of unmoral companies. They could have shut down factories in other countries, but they chose to shut down the ones here.

Once upon a time companies invested in the communities where their facilities were located. DuPont for one opened colleges and had free tuition for the towns people. That is investing in America.

I think the counter "traditional capitalism" movement has been in the form and concept of public benefit corporations, but they are a drop in the bucket compared to the profit at all cost corporate mentality that prevails today. Dupont is interesting one. I remember growing up being indoctrinated in how great they were along with GE, etc., but the amount of environmental remediation they are leaving behind in those same communities after their settlements is unreal. Perhaps at one point companies saw ROI in investing in their communities, but those days appear to be over. I guess maybe priorities have changed? and/or the actual decision makers live further away from the communities they are supposed to invest in?

 

[BrandonV]

Well the V-Series finally showed up at my Lowes.

 

[neophyte]

Seriously, Nevermind the alleged $9 tube of toothpaste.

Sensodyne costs around that $9.

 

[neophyte]

I wouldn't say that's a side effect of capitalism. It's more along the lines of unmoral companies. They could have shut down factories in other countries, but they chose to shut down the ones here.

Once upon a time companies invested in the communities where their facilities were located. DuPont for one opened colleges and had free tuition for the towns people. That is investing in America.

DuPont also dumped the chemicals left over from making Teflon into the ground, causing birth defects such as droopy eyes.
Maybe they didn’t know about the issue at first, but they eventually did.

I don’t know what the locals thought about that eventually.

 

[Bubba Fett]

I wouldn't say that's a side effect of capitalism. It's more along the lines of unmoral companies. They could have shut down factories in other countries, but they chose to shut down the ones here.

Once upon a time companies invested in the communities where their facilities were located. DuPont for one opened colleges and had free tuition for the towns people. That is investing in America.

If you want USA made, Craftsman hasn't been much of an option even before SBD bought the brand. Sears was the company that moved production to China. Good luck finding USA-made power tools under any brand these days. If you do, the costs will be astronomical compared to similar items.

You can always look at Proto and Mac, which still have plenty of USA-made hand tool selections. But generally, if you want USA-made, you are going to pay for it. That is the reality, regardless of brand.

Even if pandemic and subsequent supply chain issues not happened, the their automated machines had issues, and apparently couldn't produce tools fast enough to be cost effective. It may have been acceptable for the time, but given the economic changes that happened, it simply didn't add up. It *****, and we were all pissed, but that's life. It's far cheaper to produce tools overseas, and to be honest, I'm surprised they even made the effort.

 

[JradM]

I am upset about that. SBD made a big promise to invest in America when they bought the Craftsman brand. Since then, they have began shutting down American factories. The world biggest tool manufacturer (an American company) is selling out Americans!

I wonder if they shut down any factories in other countries? In their Q4 statement they said they are looking to consolidate factories into mostly Asia, India, and Mexico...

I'm not giving SBD any more of my money.

I'd go along with you, but you're missing the middle step when you summarize the history. That feels unfair.

You can still be mad at SBD for not investing more, but it's like you're saying:

1. They made a promise to invest in America.
2.
3. They shut down factories.
= SBD bad

#2 of course is that they actually invested a substantial amount of capital and set up USA production.

If you were just saying "SBD could do more USA production and I won't buy their tools until they do" - fair enough. But you can't point to the "promise" and skip to the end without at least acknowledging the middle.

 

[Toold_up]

I think the counter "traditional capitalism" movement has been in the form and concept of public benefit corporations, but they are a drop in the bucket compared to the profit at all cost corporate mentality that prevails today. Dupont is interesting one. I remember growing up being indoctrinated in how great they were along with GE, etc., but the amount of environmental remediation they are leaving behind in those same communities after their settlements is unreal. Perhaps at one point companies saw ROI in investing in their communities, but those days appear to be over. I guess maybe priorities have changed? and/or the actual decision makers live further away from the communities they are supposed to invest in?

Yep you nailed it. I believe that change started when the executives no longer lived in the communities. It's a shame, and it's a culture problem.

 

[Toold_up]

DuPont also dumped the chemicals left over from making Teflon into the ground, causing birth defects such as droopy eyes.
Maybe they didn’t know about the issue at first, but they eventually did.

I don’t know what the locals thought about that eventually.

Yep! It ***** and the company is completely to blame! Environmental and ethics laws were passed because of practices like these!

 

[Toold_up]

If you want USA made, Craftsman hasn't been much of an option even before SBD bought the brand. Sears was the company that moved production to China. Good luck finding USA-made power tools under any brand these days. If you do, the costs will be astronomical compared to similar items.

You can always look at Proto and Mac, which still have plenty of USA-made hand tool selections. But generally, if you want USA-made, you are going to pay for it. That is the reality, regardless of brand.

Even if pandemic and subsequent supply chain issues not happened, the their automated machines had issues, and apparently couldn't produce tools fast enough to be cost effective. It may have been acceptable for the time, but given the economic changes that happened, it simply didn't add up. It *****, and we were all pissed, but that's life. It's far cheaper to produce tools overseas, and to be honest, I'm surprised they even made the effort.

I don't mind paying for US labor. I recently bought a Little Giant King Kombo ladder because it was manufactured here. Sure I could have "saved" a hundred bucks buying the chinese one, but I WANT to support Americans.

I won't look to Proto or MAC or any SBD products because i'm pissed they are selling out Americans.

Yes the factory was a **** show. What happened after that pissed me off. They shut down the plant, then shut down the DeWalt plant (which has nothing to do with Craftsman) in order to cut expenses to fill the black hole that Craftsman left in their balance sheets. How is it fair to the workers in NC? Especially after the marketing campaign about bringing manufacturing back to America!

 

[Toold_up]

I'd go along with you, but you're missing the middle step when you summarize the history. That feels unfair.

You can still be mad at SBD for not investing more, but it's like you're saying:

1. They made a promise to invest in America.
2.
3. They shut down factories.
= SBD bad

#2 of course is that they actually invested a substantial amount of capital and set up USA production.

If you were just saying "SBD could do more USA production and I won't buy their tools until they do" - fair enough. But you can't point to the "promise" and skip to the end without at least acknowledging the middle.

1. They promised to invest in America
2. The Dallas plant failed
a. They scuttled the Dallas plant
b. They scuttled the NC DeWalt power tools plant
3. They are boasting about the profits (resulting from cost cutting at the expense of American facilities) and how they are going to close more factories.


I wonder who is next? Lenox? Waterloo?

 

[neophyte]

1. They promised to invest in America
2. The Dallas plant failed
a. They scuttled the Dallas plant
b. They scuttled the NC DeWalt power tools plant
3. They are boasting about the profits (resulting from cost cutting at the expense of American facilities) and how they are going to close more factories.


I wonder who is next? Lenox? Waterloo?

I don’t know about Waterloo.

I have wondered about Lenox, since both Lenox and Irwin make consumable blades and bits, etc., and that would basically mean overlapping product, but blades and bits are generally consumable, and consumables usually mean constant or at least consistent replacement, which is more likely the type of manufacturing that seems to stick around.

 

[Etchase]

Didn’t SWK invest in America by reopening the closed Waterloo plant and invested in making it viable again? I’m guessing SWK has more American employees making storage products than anyone.

 

[Andres26tnt]

Conglomerate doing conglomerate things, is a lot of doom and gloom for some members on here .

Anyway who else is making tools in the USA? The list sure is dwindling down, now imagine putting the money down, building a factory, staffing it. Failing do to some errors and factor out of your control. You think they want to invest more of the same?

 

[Andres26tnt]

Didn’t SWK invest in America by reopening the closed Waterloo plant and invested in making it viable again? I’m guessing SWK has more American employees making storage products than anyone.

Doesn't matter what they did, they close 2 factories. Spent millions opening a new one, closing it later after it failed. Stanley B&D are liars. Never fulfill promises, even after spending 90mil to fulfill that said promise. Make it make sense

 

[finn]

What kinda fancy-*** bread are you buying?

Also, we know you're lying, because bread at Costco only comes in packs of two.

Nope. Bought a loaf of Costco Crusty Italian Friday. All the bakery bread is sold in singles now.

Bagels were sold your choice of any two still.

I didn’t look at the price. Gotta eat, no matter what the price is.

 

[Bubba Fett]

SBD has more brands than they know what to do with. As of now, several brands have duplicate tools, creating a lot of internal competition. They seem to be handling this by making certain brands exclusive to certain stores, but I'm not sure if that's the best move, since...the Internet exists, and people can figure that out easily.

I've said before that each brand needs to specialize, and be known for certain types of tools. They need to focus and realign the brands with their roots, and focus on quality.

Porter-Cable could be the stationary shop tools (you bring the work to the tool). I think there is still a market for this.
DeWalt can be the portable power tools (you take the tool to the work).
Craftsman can be entry-level power tools, aimed at homeowner/DIYers.
Black and Decker is moving towards appliances, which I'm fine with, TBH. Their power tools were mostly disposable **** anyway.
Bostitch should focus on fastening tools and pneumatic tools.

Stanley could focus on hand tools for construction/woodworking. (Hammers, hand saws, levels, tape measures, etc.)
Craftsman could be the mechanics tools for DIYers and backyard mechanics.
Proto and Mac would remain the professional-grade brands, with as much USA-made items as possible.
Lenox seems to be aiming for trades tools (Electrical, HVAC, etc.) which makes sense.
Irwin should be the drill bits, driver bits, specialty bits, augers, taps, dies, and saw blades, machining accessories, etc. brand.
I would spin off Vise Grip as the go-to brand for clamps, vises, specialty pliers, high end pliers, etc. (things that hold things together)

In some ways they are doing this already, but I think they need to go all in. Their brands each need to be synonymous with a certain type or category of tool. It would give each brand a reason to exist, and allow them to be sold most anywhere with little internal competition.

And of course they own MTD now, so theirs several lawn and garden brands there. Not to mention storage (Lista, Waterloo, etc). All of this, plus the tool market is only part of what they do. They also do a lot of door access, security systems, and who knows what else.

While I'd love to see more USA-made products, that's gonna be a tough road. It is very hard to compete with near (or actual) slave labor. Germany and Japan subsidize a lot of their manufacturing, because they understand that it is an economic benefit, but also a national security benefit. If we were to go to war with China, they could simply kill our supply chains, and cripple our economy. I doubt it would happen, but it is a scenario worth preparing for. You can bet they paid attention during Covid when we were fighting over toilet paper.

 

[racer1735]

Seriously, Nevermind the alleged $9 tube of toothpaste.

My dentist has me on prescription Colgate that costs $20 with insurance!

 

[Toold_up]

Didn’t SWK invest in America by reopening the closed Waterloo plant and invested in making it viable again? I’m guessing SWK has more American employees making storage products than anyone.

No they did not.


This was before the SBD purchase:

Missouri based manufacturer bucks trend of sending jobs overseas - Missourinet

A western Missouri factory is a major success story amid a massive transfer of manufacturing jobs overseas. Waterloo Industries has been operating in Sedalia since the 1970’s producing metal tool kits of all sizes. It’s the only U.S. based manufacturer of such products that are sold at retail...

www.missourinet.com

 

[finn]

SBD has more brands than they know what to do with. As of now, several brands have duplicate tools, creating a lot of internal competition. They seem to be handling this by making certain brands exclusive to certain stores, but I'm not sure if that's the best move, since...the Internet exists, and people can figure that out easily.

I've said before that each brand needs to specialize, and be known for certain types of tools. They need to focus and realign the brands with their roots, and focus on quality.

Porter-Cable could be the stationary shop tools (you bring the work to the tool). I think there is still a market for this.
DeWalt can be the portable power tools (you take the tool to the work).
Craftsman can be entry-level power tools, aimed at homeowner/DIYers.
Black and Decker is moving towards appliances, which I'm fine with, TBH. Their power tools were mostly disposable **** anyway.
Bostitch should focus on fastening tools and pneumatic tools.

Stanley could focus on hand tools for construction/woodworking. (Hammers, hand saws, levels, tape measures, etc.)
Craftsman could be the mechanics tools for DIYers and backyard mechanics.
Proto and Mac would remain the professional-grade brands, with as much USA-made items as possible.
Lenox seems to be aiming for trades tools (Electrical, HVAC, etc.) which makes sense.
Irwin should be the drill bits, driver bits, specialty bits, augers, taps, dies, and saw blades, machining accessories, etc. brand.
I would spin off Vise Grip as the go-to brand for clamps, vises, specialty pliers, high end pliers, etc. (things that hold things together)

In some ways they are doing this already, but I think they need to go all in. Their brands each need to be synonymous with a certain type or category of tool. It would give each brand a reason to exist, and allow them to be sold most anywhere with little internal competition.

And of course they own MTD now, so theirs several lawn and garden brands there. Not to mention storage (Lista, Waterloo, etc). All of this, plus the tool market is only part of what they do. They also do a lot of door access, security systems, and who knows what else.

While I'd love to see more USA-made products, that's gonna be a tough road. It is very hard to compete with near (or actual) slave labor. Germany and Japan subsidize a lot of their manufacturing, because they understand that it is an economic benefit, but also a national security benefit. If we were to go to war with China, they could simply kill our supply chains, and cripple our economy. I doubt it would happen, but it is a scenario worth preparing for. You can bet they paid attention during Covid when we were fighting over toilet paper.

Porter Cable is now the TSC house brand, so DBD is already sort of doing what you suggest.

Why would they bring back the PC name for shop tools. Only your grandfather remembers stationary woodworking tools sold under the PC brand. That ship sailed ten years ago when PC went out of business as an independent brand.

If we ever went to war with China, power tools would be the last thing anyone would be concerned about.