Had a chat with Craftsman higher-ups

[7th Kahuna]

I don't know why companies what to buy up lesser quality. I know they are try to fit all price ranges. Instead of building one good product they play games.

Easy, it's all about stock price. In the past we valued innovation, quality, and market share. Today we only value profits. Look at Apple. They just released the iPhone 5 to record sales. They are an industry leader known for quality. What did their stock price do this week? It sunk.

So how does a company generate profits in a down economy? Cost savings. Buy a competitor and eliminate overlapping functions, contract out production and reduce overhead. Stockholders don't care if 'XYZ Company' produces a quality tool or even produces the tool at all. If the stock price starts to sink they will just get out, but in the mean time the stock is paying. Every consideration is short term.

Last year when Kodak announced they were all but shutting down operations, I heard a lot of smart people ask how it was that the industry leader had failed so miserably to adapt to the changing market. I heard smart people condemning the Kodak management, but I remember 20 years ago when the stock holders voted to stop management from investing any more money into digital. Money invested into development was money that wasn't available for the annual dividend. The stockholders, not management, made the decision to sacrifice the future in favor of short term profits. Few are aware that Kodak holds many of the early digital patents.

Today the most profitable companies seem to be big conglomerates that easily move in and out of business sectors. They do not innovate, they do not manufacture. Instead they steal capital from the past (buy buying up existing companies or copying their ideas) and then license or outsource production to generalist firms who, for example, produce for Levi's one week and for Walmart the next.

Levi's are a great example. When Levi's were made in the USA in Levi's plants, the design was well protected. Anyone remember the lawsuits in the 80's? Now Levi's doesn't seem to care that the rivets and pocket stitching are copied by a dozen other private labels all undoubtedly produced by the same generalist manufacturer overseas. I'm looking at a pair of Northeast Outfitters (Kmart) and if I changed the label I doubt you could tell the difference. This tells me that the companies themselves don't consider the product to be as valuable as the profits.

As consumers, we have all but lost influence. I suspect part of Craftsman's problem is they tried to play by the old rules for too long. Someone mentioned Sears' old 'good - better - best' model. They needed to have adapted that to today's tool market a long time ago. They needed to have created new rules and developed new suppliers years ago. Now it appears that maintaining a good selection of USA made quality tools at a reasonable (workable) price point is going to be difficult. Worse yet, they are going to have to figure that out even before they can try to repair their reputation.

I wish them all sorts of luck.

 

[zakmartin]

There's a contest at https://www.craftsmancomic.com/ looking for ideas about a Craftsman/Justice League comic. Here's my entry:

Here's an idea... let's run with it. Aquaman saves a sinking ship from the USA called the USS Craftsman by using his marine telepathy powers to get a white whale to keep everything afloat. That works for a few days until suddenly, the Duke of Oil shows up on a Chinese submarine along with the Earl of Greed, Egg Fu and Two Face and they board the ship and start kicking all the helpless Americans into the freezing waters of the North Pacific. Aquaman, with his webbed hands full trying to battle this army of supervillains, summons the help of the Justice League, but alas, no one can come to their aid except Superman since the Bat Boat isn't working and Batman was told by Sears that he's going to have to wait two weeks to get a warranty replacement for a broken socket since the stores no longer carry that size and Wonder Woman's Invisible Jet isn't working since the Chinese battery pack on her Craftsman cordless drill caught fire when it was sitting in the cockpit and the invisible seat is now very visible. The Green Lantern and Flash are busy at Comic-Con signing autographs for the new #1 Craftsman-Man comic. Superman shows up just as the bow of the USS Craftsman slips into the cold, dark Pacific. Oh no! It's too late! The Chinese submarine uses a super rare-earth magnet that only the Chinese possess to capture the USS Craftsman before it sinks into the bathos and they silently take it back to China, disassemble it and melt it down to make some Evolv screwdrivers. After looking at all the people who died after the USS Craftsman sank, Superman gets bummed out about the whole thing and blames it on Aquaman and the higher-ups at K-Mart. He decides to spend the rest of eternity as Clark Kent, living in a cabin in Idaho. But that's another story...

 

[Notwerk]

Yeah, that pretty much sums it up. Remember, when a company goes public, their obligation is to the shareholders, not the customers. That might seem short-sighted (it is) and counter intuitive, but the obligation of management is to maximize returns for its shareholders.

Sometimes, the best way to do that is by dismantling a company.

 

[Notwerk]

There's a contest at https://www.craftsmancomic.com/ looking for ideas about a Craftsman/Justice League comic. Here's my entry:

Here's an idea... let's run with it. Aquaman saves a sinking ship from the USA called the USS Craftsman by using his marine telepathy powers to get a white whale to keep everything afloat. That works for a few days until suddenly, the Duke of Oil shows up on a Chinese submarine along with the Earl of Greed, Egg Fu and Two Face and they board the ship and start kicking all the helpless Americans into the freezing waters of the North Pacific. Aquaman, with his webbed hands full trying to battle this army of supervillains, summons the help of the Justice League, but alas, no one can come to their aid except Superman since the Bat Boat isn't working and Batman was told by Sears that he's going to have to wait two weeks to get a warranty replacement for a broken socket since the stores no longer carry that size and Wonder Woman's Invisible Jet isn't working since the Chinese battery pack on her Craftsman cordless drill caught fire when it was sitting in the cockpit and the invisible seat is now very visible. The Green Lantern and Flash are busy at Comic-Con signing autographs for the new #1 Craftsman-Man comic. Superman shows up just as the bow of the USS Craftsman slips into the cold, dark Pacific. Oh no! It's too late! The Chinese submarine uses a super rare-earth magnet that only the Chinese possess to capture the USS Craftsman before it sinks into the bathos and they silently take it back to China, disassemble it and melt it down to make some Evolv screwdrivers. After looking at all the people who died after the USS Craftsman sank, Superman gets bummed out about the whole thing and blames it on Aquaman and the higher-ups at K-Mart. He decides to spend the rest of eternity as Clark Kent, living in a cabin in Idaho. But that's another story...

That's pretty brilliant.

 

[transittech]

There's a contest at https://www.craftsmancomic.com/ looking for ideas about a Craftsman/Justice League comic. Here's my entry:

Here's an idea... let's run with it. Aquaman saves a sinking ship from the USA called the USS Craftsman by using his marine telepathy powers to get a white whale to keep everything afloat. That works for a few days until suddenly, the Duke of Oil shows up on a Chinese submarine along with the Earl of Greed, Egg Fu and Two Face and they board the ship and start kicking all the helpless Americans into the freezing waters of the North Pacific. Aquaman, with his webbed hands full trying to battle this army of supervillains, summons the help of the Justice League, but alas, no one can come to their aid except Superman since the Bat Boat isn't working and Batman was told by Sears that he's going to have to wait two weeks to get a warranty replacement for a broken socket since the stores no longer carry that size and Wonder Woman's Invisible Jet isn't working since the Chinese battery pack on her Craftsman cordless drill caught fire when it was sitting in the cockpit and the invisible seat is now very visible. The Green Lantern and Flash are busy at Comic-Con signing autographs for the new #1 Craftsman-Man comic. Superman shows up just as the bow of the USS Craftsman slips into the cold, dark Pacific. Oh no! It's too late! The Chinese submarine uses a super rare-earth magnet that only the Chinese possess to capture the USS Craftsman before it sinks into the bathos and they silently take it back to China, disassemble it and melt it down to make some Evolv screwdrivers. After looking at all the people who died after the USS Craftsman sank, Superman gets bummed out about the whole thing and blames it on Aquaman and the higher-ups at K-Mart. He decides to spend the rest of eternity as Clark Kent, living in a cabin in Idaho. But that's another story...

 

[rwhite692]

....As for the Craftsman Justice League Comic, WOW, that's just about the silliest thing I've ever seen.

It's all about creating brand recognition particularly with children and young adults (future customers).

Example: Look at all the toy cars and trucks you had as a kid, many of them had Goodyear and the wingfoot logo printed prominently on the tire sidewalls.

That was not done by accident. And still going on today.

 

[rsanter]

I spoke with the cman marketing people and product managers a couple years ago at SEMA. All lip service, nothing changed unless you conceder things got worse

Bob

 

[lowbucktruck]

There's a contest at https://www.craftsmancomic.com/ looking for ideas about a Craftsman/Justice League comic. Here's my entry:

Here's an idea... let's run with it. Aquaman saves a sinking ship from the USA called the USS Craftsman by using his marine telepathy powers to get a white whale to keep everything afloat. That works for a few days until suddenly, the Duke of Oil shows up on a Chinese submarine along with the Earl of Greed, Egg Fu and Two Face and they board the ship and start kicking all the helpless Americans into the freezing waters of the North Pacific. Aquaman, with his webbed hands full trying to battle this army of supervillains, summons the help of the Justice League, but alas, no one can come to their aid except Superman since the Bat Boat isn't working and Batman was told by Sears that he's going to have to wait two weeks to get a warranty replacement for a broken socket since the stores no longer carry that size and Wonder Woman's Invisible Jet isn't working since the Chinese battery pack on her Craftsman cordless drill caught fire when it was sitting in the cockpit and the invisible seat is now very visible. The Green Lantern and Flash are busy at Comic-Con signing autographs for the new #1 Craftsman-Man comic. Superman shows up just as the bow of the USS Craftsman slips into the cold, dark Pacific. Oh no! It's too late! The Chinese submarine uses a super rare-earth magnet that only the Chinese possess to capture the USS Craftsman before it sinks into the bathos and they silently take it back to China, disassemble it and melt it down to make some Evolv screwdrivers. After looking at all the people who died after the USS Craftsman sank, Superman gets bummed out about the whole thing and blames it on Aquaman and the higher-ups at K-Mart. He decides to spend the rest of eternity as Clark Kent, living in a cabin in Idaho. But that's another story...

And we have a WINNER!!!!

 

[woody 73]

I for one would like them to at least keep us (the general public) more informed about what their plans are for the craftsman tool line. Lets face it, I never heard of the "INDUSTRIAL" line untill I am seeing them in brown boxes at a discount hub of Sears.

I never understood the "blue boys" or how my old card worked, for that matter I never got smart of how the online catalog works. I am not saying Sears is dumb, smartest move they came up with is to take the COO off each tool. Just wish they would be more open with their customer base.

 

[Davefr]

I suspect part of Craftsman's problem is they tried to play by the old rules for too long.

I suspect one of the other "old rules" is that the Sears business model is rooted in big anchors stores in large shopping malls.

These large malls seem to be dying out in favor of smaller strip malls and neighborhood shopping centers. I can't remember the last time my wife or I went mall shopping.

For every Sears store there are at least 3-4X Lowes, HD and HF stores.

 

[rwhite692]

On purely a volume (unit sales) basis, Sears (craftsman) has to be the largest single tool brand, by far, particularly in hand tools.

 

[nanofrog]

The truth is, it comes down to what is best for customers and the brand.

How are poor quality products at premium prices good for the customer?

Short term profits, sure. But I don't see how such a situation is good for the customer. I truly don't.

Nor am I convinced it's good for the company long term, as I stop buying from companies that I feel aren't providing me with any value, and given the sentiment here on GJ, I don't think I'm alone in this way of thinking.

Hey, we took apart bikes and cars and, in my case phonographs, because that's what we had. I hacked apart odd military surplus for the same reason. If you looked at some of the things I did at age 12, you would think pointless, but if I hadn't done those things then, I wouldn't have developed the skills or the interest to do the things I do today. Imagine that some of these kids who are hacking iPhones today will be hacking driverless cars or remote observation devices in the future. At the very least, hopefully they will own homes. Their need for tools will grow and Sears obviously hopes Craftsman is where they will turn.

I truly understand the point, as I had a similar childhood. I tore apart anything I could get my hands on, and put it back together or Frankenstein'ed something together out of misc. pieces/parts.

However, I do see some differences between now and then. It seems to boil down to they're interested in electronics and other items where they won't actually get dirty, and can stay in the A/C and/or heat. Things that will get them outside in the weather and involves getting covered in grease, dirt, ... however, seems to be products they avoid.

I wasn't exactly fond of it at 17 or earlier either, but I had a dad that worked for a living in the weather, and made me go with him in the summers when he started his own business. Not only did I get the exposure, but I had to work. Now I'm old enough to see the wisdom of the life lessons he was trying to instill in me when I was a kid (work ethic, don't be afraid to learn on my own, ...).

 

[metaldad]

Time will tell. One thing is for sure the big boys at headquarters have never know what they are doing. They had to sell the Sears Tower because the could not afford to keep it.

Sears got out of the hi rise because they wanted a 'campus' style headquarters.
They built a huge complex in Hoffman Estates (a near suburb of Chicago) in "93. I'm sure they got huge tax incentives for that.
Recently, Sears threatened to relocate their hq to the east coast. They got more tax incentives and stayed in Hoffman.

 

[Paticus]

Craftsman has a booth at NY Comic Con and so I had a chance to chat with (and interrogate) their head marketing guy.

I'm not sure how much I can repeat, but I assume he would have noted confidential comments as such.

1. Craftsman Pro tools are coming back. I think he mentioned something about storage as well. Maybe that's just wishful thinking

2. The Craftsman pro line will sort of be aimed at commercial/industrial customers, but should be accessible to DIYers and consumers

3. Some of the tools will be redesigned

4. USA manufacturing will remain a focus (whenever possible?)

5. Craftsman listens to feedback

I'm going to try to stop by tomorrow as well with more questions.

Overall I have good feelings about the changes Craftsman is working on, and I don't feel at all like I've been manipulated. They're at Comic Con showing off the new Bolt-On tools and I gave no indication that I would quiz them about random other stuff. Responses seemed genuine, leaving me with a great feeling about the brand.

Let me know if you guys have any questions you want me to ask them, assuming I'm able to make it in tomorrow. No promises though.

I don't think the Craftsman "higher ups" are chillin at a Comic Con booth. Whatever info you heard from the "head of marketing", I would take with a grain of salt.

BTW Unless Craftsman's PR is utter ****, they are not telling you anything confidential at a comic booth, so I wouldn't worry about repeating private information.

 

[CWP1616L]

Sears needs to stop competing with Harbor Freight and start having some quality tools made for them. Charge a little more money for quality and the customers will come back.

 

[rickhigginshtbr]

There's a social media site kinda like facebook for sears employees called pebbles. Spoke with some woman executive who is a buyer for tools about the dis-satifaction many folks had with what was going on. The feedback I got from that was, well somewhat positive.

...associates have time to use Pebble? I was shown it on my first day, forced to sign up, follow some people... then didn't touch it for 2 1/2 years.

 

[Chadwilliam1]

Sears needs to stop competing with Harbor Freight and start having some quality tools made for them. Charge a little more money for quality and the customers will come back.

I doubt that...

 

[Conductor562]

Craftsman was at Comic Con because they have a comic series from DC Comics that focuses on a super hero called "The Craftsman" http://www.protoolreviews.com/news/industry/dc-comics-con-craftsman-tools-superhero

 

[mrjaw14]

so let me get this straight: no one buys craftsman tools because they cost too much compared to hft and wally world, so they come up with evolve...which people who shop for craftsman know evolve is a crock of S and they still don't buy tools. They outsource production, don't lower prices, then when we complain about COO they say "no wait, you can pay more for these "industrial tools" and get basically what we had before we outsourced, at higher prices.

Craftsman is a mid-level brand at best. If they can't make craftsman not **** without asking me to pony up for the industrial or pro line, then they should close up shop. At that price point I think many people who are interested in tools will be buying wright, Armstrong, SK, SO, etc and telling sears where to put their "industrial" line

 

[airbatica]

Color me skeptical. I'm done playing games with Sears and COO, they can f*** off and die for all I care now. If they want to bring me back in, they need to bring EVERYTHING in the Craftsman line back to the States. Then they need to issue an apology for screwing consumers with the chinese junk at USA prices.

 

[TwoInch]

Craftsman has been doubling thir prices because of all the advertisment games they play. It is nuts. They just don't get it. For the homeowner they were the perfect tool at a fair price.


?

doubling?

the biggest problem they had was that they never really raised the prices... we were getting USA made tools at asian made prices....

have you bought a gallon of milk lately?

 

[camarotoolman]

1/2 drive 6point deeps wells, they would sell all of them they could make. They could drop all 12 point sockets, nobody buys them. They need to bring back tape measures and calk lines. They sold great. Bean counters don't know tools!

 

[Chadwilliam1]

I buy 1/2 12 point deepwell sockets.

 

[stricht8]

Color me skeptical. I'm done playing games with Sears and COO, they can f*** off and die for all I care now. If they want to bring me back in, they need to bring EVERYTHING in the Craftsman line back to the States. Then they need to issue an apology for screwing consumers with the chinese junk at USA prices.

Kind of true but why do the truck brands sell some Chinese tools at tool truck prices?

 

[Dick in Wisconsin]

When I saw that Craftsman/Sears was a Comic Con NYC ... I thought it was a cruel joke.

I'm very disappointed in CM/Sears. I've been to SEMA, the motorsports IMIS show in Indy, and the Racing/Perforamnce Expo in St. Charles, IL (almost within site of the Sears HQ in Hoffman Estates, IL) and have NEVER seen anyone from CM/Sears.

I picked up on another possible problem ... marketing person might not be a tool user. Not all the people in CM need to be tool users ... but they need some hobbyist types.

Did you pick up if CM/Sears watches this forum?

 

[Hootbro]

I buy 1/2 12 point deepwell sockets.

As do I.

 

[byoungblood]

I buy 1/2 12 point deepwell sockets.

Most of my 1/2" and 3/4" drive sockets are 12 pt. Contact area between 6 and 12pt on larger sized sockets is usually negligible.

 

[Fedwrench]

When I saw that Craftsman/Sears was a Comic Con NYC ... I thought it was a cruel joke.

I'm very disappointed in CM/Sears. I've been to SEMA, the motorsports IMIS show in Indy, and the Racing/Perforamnce Expo in St. Charles, IL (almost within site of the Sears HQ in Hoffman Estates, IL) and have NEVER seen anyone from CM/Sears.

I picked up on another possible problem ... marketing person might not be a tool user. Not all the people in CM need to be tool users ... but they need some hobbyist types.

Did you pick up if CM/Sears watches this forum?

Sears had a tiny booth at SEMA last year. Garage openers, cordless tools, and few spline items were on display. They even gave away ignition wrench key chains

There are many manufacturers that lurk here.

 

[Chadwilliam1]

Most of my 1/2" and 3/4" drive sockets are 12 pt. Contact area between 6 and 12pt on larger sized sockets is usually negligible.

As do I.

glad to see I am not the only nobody here.