Do Tool Brand Names impact your purchasing decisions?

[oldschoolcraft]

I know it’s stupid, but branding does have a psychological impact and trillions of dollars are involved in advertising. I started to wonder how much the actual chosen name of a brand has on purchasing habits. Logically it’s stupid but humans are emotional creatures.

I got the idea when I read about the brand Capri. Hadn’t heard of them before but when I hear Capri I think of Capris pants which are effeminate and I think of Capris sun sugar water drink which is for children. I‘m turned off by the brand name, for admittingly illogical reasons.

I ordered some Koken tools this week and I hate the font they use. It didn’t stop me from buying them, and won’t stop me in the future from buying more, but if there’s an equivalent tool made by a brand with cleaner typography, where all else is equal but the logo, I’ll avoid Koken due to the lettering used.

Proto is a fantastic name, has nice clean branding and lettering. And of course they’re a high quality tool with a reasonable price, but I like the branding.

Tekton has nice branding. The mental image is of something technical and precise but also strong. And the design of their tools fits the name. They tend to make sleeker shaped wrenches.

Pittsburgh is a terrible branding. I know it’s made in China, why are they naming it after a US city? A city that isn’t currently renown for industrial competence. It’s also a clunky name to say and to spell. And the lettering they use is askew at an angle, makes me subconsiously think the tools are crooked too.

Then you have Icon. Great name. Short, sleek, the word is associated with something to be proud of. The Typography is clear and straight.

Astro Pneumatic has a nice name. Technical. Makes me think they are competent and make tools for professionals.

Mac tools name makes me think of an old reliable but not innovative brand. When I hear the name ”Mack” I think of a 60 year old neighbor who worked at a car factory for 40 years, is retired and old Mack can help you fix anything in your house. No, he won’t have new fangled fancy tools but by golly, Mack will get er done with a rusty crescent wrench.

I thought about keeping this topic to myself since you guys might laugh at me for even bringing it up but realized when a new brand comes out, they put in massive effort into market research trying to Identify the best name. Because while we shouldn’t be swayed by a name and logo fonts, they do have an impact on us subconciously.

 

[cgrutt]

Definitely impacts my decision. Personally prefer Snap on but can no longer afford it. Next MADE IN USA would be preferable to almost anything else. I've been recently holding my nose and buying ICON and you know what, has been pretty good.

I'm old School through and through. Yearn for days when you could get a decent tool inexpensively that was made in USA. Harder to come by these days...

 

[d.mcfarland]

I personally equate the name to the company. Part of a decision to purchase something is absolutely based on the manufacturer.

 

[Jsf721]

Brand names that lead to quality yes.

 

[freudianfloyd]

This is essentially why Rockefeller named his oil company Standard Oil. He wanted to be considered the standard that all other brands try to follow. Of course over time, some words lose their gravitas.....to me Standard just means "basic" or "plain".

 

[MushCreek]

No. I don't care what it's called, as long as it does the job. I base my purchase decisions on reviews and word-of-mouth. Sometimes, I just like the feel of a tool when I pick it up.

 

[finn]

Pittsburgh equates to junk, but Milwaukee is ok, albeit overrated to me. Chicago Pneumatic is ok too, and Cincinnati still has a good vibe, as does OTC and Millers Falls. It was a good idea when Tectonic replaced MTC, as the cheap tool stigma of the MTC name was quickly forgotten.

Buffalo falls in with Pittsburgh.
.
Nothing negative comes to mind with Capri, though. Reminiscent of the island.
.

 

[RoninB4]

Brand name used to influence me back when the brand meant something. Older brand names don't mean as much any more on newer products, companies have sacrificed their hard won reputation to outsource cheaply made products in favor of greater profits.

When I spot a new-to-me hardware product with a name that sounds like it came from marketing (Pittsburgh for example) I scrutinize it carefully for flawed manufacturing/materials. Most of what's made in hardware now is just ****. I don't buy new tools very often, I either have or make what I need.

Electronics are a gamble, appliances are largely just sh*te be they large or small and don't last very long. I try not to purchase things made in China but have to admit some items from there have surpassed my expectations.

As a former toolmaker that "Made In The USA" I used to favor American companies. After closely watching how American companies were run for the last 2 decades I no longer favor or promote American made products. Most American companies I'm familiar with deserve the results of their race to the edge of the cliff. The Wharton MBA boys/girls can go pound sand.

 

[cherokee]

Yes, I think for anyone they do, now if they know it or not that is another question.

I find myself doing more research on things....what do people have to say about it. Finding a trusted source can be hard, but I think this place is fairly neutral. Where it is made IMHO has little to do with it anymore. Anything can be made anywhere and to any level of "quality" whatever that is.

I decided that I wanted a plasma cutter to cut the heater channels out of my VW. I had all matter of saws that would do it, but where is the fun in that. Started reading and watching videos, or commercials on youtube that pretend to be reviews. Lots of folk said good things about the cheapo chinese versions on Amazon, so I gave it a go. Fast forward a year and I still have not cut out those heater channels but I have used that thing a great deal, and still have zero idea what I am doing. But it does work and has kept working for over a year now. Real handy gizmo.

I have a feeling that most of us have bought expensive tools that are garbage and cheap tools that work better then we ever figured they would, and have kept working.

 

[AEAdam]

I think Snap On is a dumb name for a tool company, let alone the best tool company. It’s undignified. That said, they’ve done a lot with their branding, logo, and I think their reputation is pretty impeccable.

The name came from their first invention, a tool set that involved sockets that could snap on to various types of handles. Seems funny to me to name a company that has been so innovative with their first big invention. Old fashioned.

Family names are good. Starrett, Klein, Hazet, Wright, Bosch, Bonney?

Craftsman is kinda dumb. Icon sounds trendy to me. Koken sounds more legit. It’s japanese company with a Japanese name. Mitutoyo isn’t a name, it’s a phrase, but sounds great to me.

I like to think about brands we think of as exotic because they have foreign names but their translations are pedestrian.
LG. Lucky Gold Star
blaupunkt blue dot
medglio doro gold medal

 

[Kasal]

I like the Capri tools, I think they are good value for money. And they also have a very attractive logo.

 

[lardy1]

I seem to naturally gravitate to certain brands if left to my own devices. But I've disappointed myself numerous times and have learned to sort opinions and reviews. This place helps a lot once you learn to sort wheat from chaff. I look at online reviews but don't assign much credibility.

 

[AEAdam]

I like the Capri tools, I think they are good value for money. And they also have a very attractive logo.

Is that a goat? Goats are evil.

 

[Old Donn]

Have some Snap-On, have some Pittsburgh, and a lot in between. If it works, I use it. Not a pro, so I'm not married to the tool truck.

 

[Chefjpd]

 

[cherokee]

Have some Snap-On, have some Pittsburgh, and a lot in between. If it works, I use it. Not a pro, so I'm not married to the tool truck.

It reminds me of the music world about 20-30 years ago. The "cheap" guitars back then are just junk, and when I say junk, I mean they are total junk. You needed to spend real money to get a halfway good instrument.

Fast forward to now and you can get yourself a perfectly serviceable instrument for sub $200. Will it have a "quality" issue here and there, sure, a sharp fret, little over spray perhaps, but the thing will work, stay in tune, sound good and last.

Now if you don't know music think of it like a screw driver. Why spend snap on money for a phillips screw driver when that one from the dollar store will still loosen the screw on a door hinge. The differences come into when you use it day in and day out. Oh you can make it feel better, or work a little better, but at its core it is still a $179 guitar. What do you get when you spend $4000+ for that "real" tool.

Next up are the mid range tools, Ikon, Rigid, in the guitar world it is Epiphone, Fenders classic vibe, or Gretsch electromatic. Very good tools or guitars that you can see and feel the difference that extra $500 is going to give you. You can just feel it is a step up.

Now when you move to the top tier, Snapon, Gibson, Gretsch 6000 series, where that extra money goes is getting harder and harder to see and feel. You know it "has to be there" but at times you just can't find it. If blind folded and told to use the tool you might choose the lesser one for having a better feel, a better bite on the screw. Years ago Anderson in england did blindfolded guitar reviews and the "expensive" version did not always win. Don't touch the controls that will be a did give away, but the feel of what you are using, what do you like best.

The parallel between the two totally different areas is just easy to see. Not sure many guitar players also get grease under the nails on their dominate hand, and no nails on the neck hand. It comes down to feel when using it, and your "skill level" when using it, and even if you have a great deal of skill the "lesser" model may have a better feel.

 

[cherokee]

Being firmly in the "tin foil hat" camp, I can really see it.

 

[Cadfael]

For battery powered tools not sure it matters once you invest in the batteries. I bought Milwaukee impact several years ago, and now have collected numerous Milwaukee batteries. Now I almost exclusively buy Milwaukee tools that fit the batteries I have.

 

[MovingAlong]

"Do Tool Brand Names impact your purchasing decisions?"

Brand names develop reputations. I don't have the time or money to run comparison trials between every brand on the market so I choose based on those reputations. Once you associate a brand name with quality and reliability you'll buy more of them. That association could come from personal experience or the experience of a trusted family member/neighbor/professional/etc.

How could you do anything else?

 

[Rusted Nut]

I like the Capri tools, I think they are good value for money. And they also have a very attractive logo.

That’s an effeminate looking goat, I don’t think I’d buy their tools.

 

[Samuel D]

Stahlwille (meaning “steel will”, but the German sounds more evocative to anglo ears) is a great name for a company that forges steel.

Knipex is a good name for a pliers company. Pliers nip. The “ex” sounds appropriately technical and excellent. The hard “K” at the front makes it intriguingly unpronounceable and German-sounding.

Speaking of that, “Germany” is obviously a strong brand in itself, probably stronger than the country’s current engineering performance strictly warrants.

Toptul was a cheesy brand name that was redeemed by the quality and value of the products.

Snap-on probably sounded less cheesy in the distant past when product innovation was usually progress and people hadn’t caught on to the useless nature of most gimmicks. The name reflected the core product (interchangeable sockets on a few handles). Today when we hear the words “snap on” we don’t think of the meaning of the words but instead the meaning of the brand: high quality, expensive, American, franchised-truck tools. So the branding works. On the down side, even its biggest fans usually spell it wrong: it’s “Snap-on” with that hyphen and only the first word capitalised. If people can’t spell your brand name right or, worse, can’t Google it effectively (for example, because people favour a variety of abbreviations for it instead of writing it out in full), that’s a problem.

Koken has the same hyphenation problem. Is it Koken or Ko-ken or Ko-Ken or Kok-en? Even the company doesn’t know in its own marketing material. I would agree with the earlier criticism of its typeface except that it’s Japanese. Maybe that weak typeface actually emphasises its foreign otherness to the brand’s advantage? Japan clearly is a whole different world of aesthetic appreciation from our own. Maybe it works to be reminded that we don’t understand Japan and yet their hands and machines are the same as our hands and machines and they make great hand tools.

Then there are sub-brands for specific features. Flank Drive, Protwist, Hex-Plus, etc. Anyone who believes they are immune to these marketing tactics is naive enough about human nature to be probably a huge sucker for all sorts of schemes.

I have worked for major global advertising companies in Paris. They have vast palatial offices in the most expensive parts of town, sometimes whole buildings so they can throw cocktail parties on their private rooftop gardens. These companies bank unbelievable money precisely because they are incredibly effective at increasing sales. You simply can’t compete on a global scale without their help any more.

 

[qqzj]

Snap on is almost naturally paired with rip off. Pretty horrible name. That's evidence name doesn't matter much

 

[dnschmidt]

OBVIOUSLY, Otherwise Madison Avenue would not exist. To the person that asked Snap-On is Snap-on as they invented the interchangeable socket which SNAPS-ONTO the extension or ratchet they invented. Nothing stupid about the name if you know it's history. I like TOPTUL's name as it implies a Top Tool and for the money their stuff can't be beat. I'll hold this view until I die. I also hold the view that they completely blew it by not aggressively coming to America post Sears and pre Tekton and Capri. They could have completely replaced Craftsman if they had the balls to commit as their products are 10 times better and priced lower than Craftsman was.

 

[m6z]

Somewhat.

Experience and user reviews are more important than a name.

 

[Houdini5150]

When I look at brands I look over the tools and see what value it may bring to my at home DIY sort of use. I don't care too much about where it is made as long as it works and if I can get what I deem 'my moneys worth' with the tool. Cordless tools I like my Ryobi as its worked well for me and my used and I enjoy the 2 Milwaukee Hand me downs. Plus I am collecting a little more extra to pass off to the kids. Gf son will be driving soon and in a couple years he will need some tools...

 

[dcg9381]

I bought a Makita cordless drill about 20 years ago. Still have it. Still works (if I chose to deal with the batteries).
All my other cordless tools are Makita, based on the experience with that one tool.

 

[cherokee]

For battery powered tools not sure it matters once you invest in the batteries. I bought Milwaukee impact several years ago, and now have collected numerous Milwaukee batteries. Now I almost exclusively buy Milwaukee tools that fit the batteries I have.

I think battery tools are a bit different. You are pretty stuck with a brand unless you want to have all kinds of different chargers laying around, and extra batteries.

I am all red as well, and it is nice to have another battery, or dozen on chargers ready to go if need be.

 

[AEAdam]

OBVIOUSLY, Otherwise Madison Avenue would not exist. To the person that asked Snap-On is Snap-on as they invented the interchangeable socket which SNAPS-ONTO the extension or ratchet they invented. Nothing stupid about the name if you know it's history. I like TOPTUL's name as it implies a Top Tool and for the money their stuff can't be beat. I'll hold this view until I die. I also hold the view that they completely blew it by not aggressively coming to America post Sears and pre Tekton and Capri. They could have completely replaced Craftsman if they had the balls to commit as their products are 10 times better and priced lower than Craftsman was.

Let's face it, HF has the Craftsman market locked up. Its everything the old Sears Craftsman was and better. That Sears failed is interesting because HF does almost exactly what Sears did.

One thing I think HF has work to go on is its tool branding. I felt Craftsman was pretty legit back in the day. They had history. They had NASCAR advertising. Tool boxes, Jacks, air compressors, all leveraging the Craftsman brand.

HF tools (in my opinion) are head and shoulders better then Craftsman were, but they feel "fly by night" to me. They keep changing tool branding Pittsburgh, Icon, Bauer, US General, Daytona and it all feels seedy, like they are covering something up with these made up English language names.

My advice to the newly formed US SK was: stop trying to innovate. You can't compete with Snap On. Create a unified brand. Sell decent quality at decent prices and innovate tool storage, organization, colors and color coding and offer a total suite of tools (like Hazet does). Cool colors, cool toolbox, cool foam inserts that fit the tool box, nice sets, of decent tools. Upgradable options.

I would say the same to HF. The boxes should be rebranded to match the tools and jacks. The tool sets should be customized for those boxes, colors should be unified to match the boxes, related products like LED lights, match the ratchet handles which match the screwdrivers and hammers. How can someone be brand loyal to HF who offer a dozen different brands (and honestly, with very different qualities)? HF is a brand nightmare. Its literally what not to do.

Before you rush to respond, no, its not lost on me that the company is wildly successful. And I recognize it very well could be that Icon IS the unified brand that HF seeks. And yes, if I see it, I'm sure 1000 others see the same thing and the company is all over it.

One more piece of unwanted advice: Products like SKs X-wrench look like they were designed by a 14yr old boy with a cad system. Icon can only go so far ripping off Snap On designs. The products we know and love all have real product designers, industrial designers, and graphic artists behind them. You can't afford to let engineers like me make logos or do packaging designs. Hear that Koken? Awesome engineering, boring designs.

 

[ecotec]

Absolutely… I have become infatuated with the big truck tool brands and industrial brands…

But I am NOT their target customer.

I already had all these tools… in much more entry level or homeowner level form factors.

So, I want all the Snap-on and Wright… and all of that… but without the justification to pay for it… so I have upgraded week over week year over year $1-20 at a time… buying the lightly used truck and industrial brands from garage and estate sales.

I could never have afforded what I have had I tried to get it any other way.

Mathematically, with gas and time, I, obviously, paid more than the price of the items. A $.25 socket is not really a quarter… gas, time, wear and tear on the car… nothing is “the price”. I am fully aware.

But… I can afford a little bit of gas at a time and a quarter for a $30 socket… much more than I can afford or justify a $30 socket.

I have recently been just going to garage sales that are not out of my way. I have been cutting back on buying in general… but I still keep finding things week after week year after year… and, definitely, the name brand factors into my choices.

I think that branding matters to a good amount of consumers… even if they rarely buy from the companies.

 

[Chrome Vanadium Cody]

Brand name no, favorite color yes. If there are two tools of equal price and suitability for my work I'll pick the blue one. Guess whether I have a lot of Channellocks...

 

[finn]

Let's face it, HF has the Craftsman market locked up. Its everything the old Sears Craftsman was and better. That Sears failed is interesting because HF does almost exactly what Sears did.

One thing I think HF has work to go on is its tool branding. I felt Craftsman was pretty legit back in the day. They had history. They had NASCAR advertising. Tool boxes, Jacks, air compressors, all leveraging the Craftsman brand.

HF tools (in my opinion) are head and shoulders better then Craftsman were, but they feel "fly by night" to me. They keep changing tool branding Pittsburgh, Icon, Bauer, US General, Daytona and it all feels seedy, like they are covering something up with these made up English language names.

My advice to the newly formed US SK was: stop trying to innovate. You can't compete with Snap On. Create a unified brand. Sell decent quality at decent prices and innovate tool storage, organization, colors and color coding and offer a total suite of tools (like Hazet does). Cool colors, cool toolbox, cool foam inserts that fit the tool box, nice sets, of decent tools. Upgradable options.

I would say the same to HF. The boxes should be rebranded to match the tools and jacks. The tool sets should be customized for those boxes, colors should be unified to match the boxes, related products like LED lights, match the ratchet handles which match the screwdrivers and hammers. How can someone be brand loyal to HF who offer a dozen different brands (and honestly, with very different qualities)? HF is a brand nightmare. Its literally what not to do.

Before you rush to respond, no, its not lost on me that the company is wildly successful. And I recognize it very well could be that Icon IS the unified brand that HF seeks. And yes, if I see it, I'm sure 1000 others see the same thing and the company is all over it.

One more piece of unwanted advice: Products like SKs X-wrench look like they were designed by a 14yr old boy with a cad system. Icon can only go so far ripping off Snap On designs. The products we know and love all have real product designers, industrial designers, and graphic artists behind them. You can't afford to let engineers like me make logos or do packaging designs. Hear that Koken? Awesome engineering, boring designs.

HF in no way “does the same things Sears did”

You can’t buy a washing machine, tires for your car, auto or homeowner’s insurance, new underwear jeans, or boots, an outboard motor, tent, sleeping bag, learn tractor, snowblower, lawn mower, roto tiller, jewelry, baby cribs, living room furniture, a refrigerator, kitchen range, barbed wire fence, seeds, a butter churn, automobile, or even a pre cut house at HF, yet all those things, and a thousand more have been mainstays of Sears at one time or another.

HF is by far a more narrowly focused company than Sears ever was.

 

[ecotec]

HF in no way “does the same things Sears did”

You can’t buy a washing machine, tires for your car, auto or homeowner’s insurance, new underwear jeans, or boots, an outboard motor, tent, sleeping bag, learn tractor, snowblower, lawn mower, roto tiller, jewelry, baby cribs, living room furniture, a refrigerator, kitchen range, barbed wire fence, seeds, a butter churn, automobile, or even a pre cut house at HF, yet all those things, and a thousand more have been mainstays of Sears at one time or another.

HF is by far a more narrowly focused company than Sears ever was.

Even a car (Kaiser Henry J) or an Allstate motorcycle (Excelsior) or scooter (rebranded Vespa).

You could buy almost anything from the Sears catalog. They were Amazon before computers.

 

[AEAdam]

HF in no way “does the same things Sears did”

You can’t buy a washing machine, tires for your car, auto or homeowner’s insurance, new underwear jeans, or boots, an outboard motor, tent, sleeping bag, learn tractor, snowblower, lawn mower, roto tiller, jewelry, baby cribs, living room furniture, a refrigerator, kitchen range, barbed wire fence, seeds, a butter churn, automobile, or even a pre cut house at HF, yet all those things, and a thousand more have been mainstays of Sears at one time or another.

HF is by far a more narrowly focused company than Sears ever was.

True and good point. You know, I was just thinking about craftsman and the fact that Sears made nothing. They were just a distributor. But to your point, I recall going and seeing families shopping after church, and there was something for everyone there. HF has a wife repellant smell.

 

[ecotec]

True and good point. You know, I was just thinking about craftsman and the fact that Sears made nothing. They were just a distributor. But to your point, I recall going and seeing families shopping after church, and there was something for everyone there. HF has a wife repellant smell.

I used to hide in the Sears tool department while my wife shopped in the mall…

I think half of the guys on GJ can say the same thing.

 

[cgrutt]

I used to hide in the Sears tool department while my wife shopped in the mall…

I think half of the guys on GJ can say the same thing.

I took my kid to Sears on the way home from the hospital after he was born. Everyone was saying don't let people touch him, stay away from germs, etc. I was like F that expose him early and let his immune system do what it was designed to do. We needed a new refrigerator...

 

[Kuma601]

To a certain extent yes. The high end less so because I don't have that wallet depth to play. Among the mid-stream gear I'll buy what balances use to $ and favoring the affordability side.

 

[dnschmidt]

Let's face it, HF has the Craftsman market locked up. Its everything the old Sears Craftsman was and better. That Sears failed is interesting because HF does almost exactly what Sears did.

One thing I think HF has work to go on is its tool branding. I felt Craftsman was pretty legit back in the day. They had history. They had NASCAR advertising. Tool boxes, Jacks, air compressors, all leveraging the Craftsman brand.

HF tools (in my opinion) are head and shoulders better then Craftsman were, but they feel "fly by night" to me. They keep changing tool branding Pittsburgh, Icon, Bauer, US General, Daytona and it all feels seedy, like they are covering something up with these made up English language names.

My advice to the newly formed US SK was: stop trying to innovate. You can't compete with Snap On. Create a unified brand. Sell decent quality at decent prices and innovate tool storage, organization, colors and color coding and offer a total suite of tools (like Hazet does). Cool colors, cool toolbox, cool foam inserts that fit the tool box, nice sets, of decent tools. Upgradable options.

I would say the same to HF. The boxes should be rebranded to match the tools and jacks. The tool sets should be customized for those boxes, colors should be unified to match the boxes, related products like LED lights, match the ratchet handles which match the screwdrivers and hammers. How can someone be brand loyal to HF who offer a dozen different brands (and honestly, with very different qualities)? HF is a brand nightmare. Its literally what not to do.

Before you rush to respond, no, its not lost on me that the company is wildly successful. And I recognize it very well could be that Icon IS the unified brand that HF seeks. And yes, if I see it, I'm sure 1000 others see the same thing and the company is all over it.

One more piece of unwanted advice: Products like SKs X-wrench look like they were designed by a 14yr old boy with a cad system. Icon can only go so far ripping off Snap On designs. The products we know and love all have real product designers, industrial designers, and graphic artists behind them. You can't afford to let engineers like me make logos or do packaging designs. Hear that Koken? Awesome engineering, boring designs.

HF does NOW! At the time I was selling TOPTUL HF was still Pittsburgh and nobody else (Tekton and Capri) had filled the Craftsman void. There was a period of time where TOPTUL could have, and should have, filled that void. Too late now, but, I can only wonder what could have been.

 

[dnschmidt]

I took my kid to Sears on the way home from the hospital after he was born. Everyone was saying don't let people touch him, stay away from germs, etc. I was like F that expose him early and let his immune system do what it was designed to do. We needed a new refrigerator...

Liar, Liar pants on fire. CLEARLY you were trying to indoctrinate him into the tool culture. Not that I’m saying that there was anything wrong with that move.

 

[cgrutt]

Liar, Liar pants on fire. CLEARLY you were trying to indoctrinate him into the tool culture. Not that I’m saying that there was anything wrong with that move.

Funny thing is I am not really a fan of Craftsman tools (although I own a fair amount of them). Had a Craftsman universal joint blow apart on me under hand pressure and a piece of chrome nearly took out my best friend's eye. He had several surgeries from that but fortunately didn't lose his sight. I started buying Snap-on after that. About 40 years ago...

 

[M635_Guy]

Let's face it, HF has the Craftsman market locked up. Its everything the old Sears Craftsman was and better. That Sears failed is interesting because HF does almost exactly what Sears did.

One thing I think HF has work to go on is its tool branding. I felt Craftsman was pretty legit back in the day. They had history. They had NASCAR advertising. Tool boxes, Jacks, air compressors, all leveraging the Craftsman brand.

HF tools (in my opinion) are head and shoulders better then Craftsman were, but they feel "fly by night" to me. They keep changing tool branding Pittsburgh, Icon, Bauer, US General, Daytona and it all feels seedy, like they are covering something up with these made up English language names.

My advice to the newly formed US SK was: stop trying to innovate. You can't compete with Snap On. Create a unified brand. Sell decent quality at decent prices and innovate tool storage, organization, colors and color coding and offer a total suite of tools (like Hazet does). Cool colors, cool toolbox, cool foam inserts that fit the tool box, nice sets, of decent tools. Upgradable options.

I would say the same to HF. The boxes should be rebranded to match the tools and jacks. The tool sets should be customized for those boxes, colors should be unified to match the boxes, related products like LED lights, match the ratchet handles which match the screwdrivers and hammers. How can someone be brand loyal to HF who offer a dozen different brands (and honestly, with very different qualities)? HF is a brand nightmare. Its literally what not to do.

Before you rush to respond, no, its not lost on me that the company is wildly successful. And I recognize it very well could be that Icon IS the unified brand that HF seeks. And yes, if I see it, I'm sure 1000 others see the same thing and the company is all over it.

One more piece of unwanted advice: Products like SKs X-wrench look like they were designed by a 14yr old boy with a cad system. Icon can only go so far ripping off Snap On designs. The products we know and love all have real product designers, industrial designers, and graphic artists behind them. You can't afford to let engineers like me make logos or do packaging designs. Hear that Koken? Awesome engineering, boring designs.

I think I get your points, but I don't think HF is doing as terribly as you think. It seems to me they're in a slow transition to brand tiers mapped across their Good/Better/Best strategy. It's taking a while, and I sorta-get some of the criticisms, but guessing that some of the choices are driven by things related to how they do things like coupons/discounts and other beyond-product. I don't agree at all that the boxes should be rebranded or the colors unified to that extent. Beyond being kinda bizarre (IMHO), it would drive costs with little return.

I'd also argue they're doing more and better than Sears Craftsman - every step beyond the year 2000 the Craftsman brand got more and more a veneer, and today it's just a shelf-filler that doesn't mean much. I agree that Harbor Freight fills the pre-200 Craftsman slot in a lot of ways.

The SK Xframe is not designed for fashion . Not sure where that take comes from...

I used to hide in the Sears tool department while my wife shopped in the mall…

I think half of the guys on GJ can say the same thing.

Probably more than that - certainly true of me...