Sears is considering selling the Craftsman brand

[L.Cheapo]

I agree that outsourcing is done for many reasons ranging from survival to greed.

And one of those reasons is trade policies that look like they were negotiated after an all night bender. You simply cannot compete with pennies a day wages when you have to pay first world wages and benefits. Add to the fact that if you export its taxed 40% by the importing country, but if you import there is only a fraction of that 40% due.

Consumers are addicted to cheap, which is why HF and WM have flourished. You cant be cheap when your costs are exponentially higher than the competition.

You can choose cheap and appeal to most, or choose the niche route and present your quality to a seemingly shrinking audience. Tough decision for any company.

 

[Milwookie]

It's also just a little crazy that companies insist on paying Anericans the absolute minimum they can as required by law, but then complain that Americans are too cheap to pay for quality goods.

 

[kctyphoon]

But bringing production back to the US could prove problematic; since Craftsman as a company doesn't actually make anything, they're completely reliant on the company the subcontract for manufacturing. It seems like the majority of tool manufacturers not owned by the parent brand are running into issues - inability to fill quota, environmental problems (flooding, etc). That makes for volatility, which could be very dangerous for what's essentially a start-up company using an old name. Even assuming a well-established parent company buys the brand, there's still a lot of risk at bringing production back to the US without building their own production facilities.

Craftsman a few years before the move to China production did not make good tools; Craftsman 2010 isn't really comparable in quality to Craftsman 1990. I have some old Craftsman tools and they're perfectly serviceable; I had some later ones - especially ratchets - that got thrown in the trash because they were so bad. So there's also that to deal with; if production did come back to the US, what would we be seeing quality-wise? Earlier Craftsman stuff that was fine for light professional and homeowner use, or later Craftsman stuff that makes HF tools look high-quality?

There's definitely a market for US-made tools, but I don't agree that outsourcing is directly driven by corporate greed. The average American in 2016 doesn't give a **** where something is made, as long as it's easy to get, is cheap, and will work a few times. Wal-Mart is probably the best example of that; convenience and cheap prices trump quality and durability, and that's being driven by the consumer and the market. Wal-Mart exists because of the consumer, not the other way around. And when you look at what good-quality US-made tools cost - SK, Proto, Armstrong, etc - their pricing isn't competitive when viewed against GearWrench, Pittsburgh Pro, Tekton, and Sunex (all which seem to have grudging respect here for their quality-to-price ratio) for the demographic Craftsman was/is targeting. While there's demand for US-made tools, I just don't think it's high enough or broad enough for someone to buy a currently-broken brand, figure out US-manufacturer sourcing, and then determine how they're going to market and sell those tools, and retain the albatross that is the Craftsman warranty.

You have to keep in mind what kept Crafsman hand tools profitable is their NOT owning their own facility. They have a few forges to chose from, and the quality is just limited by what they want to invest into it. It's a cheaper way for them to produce tools. They (Craftsman), places a large order, and once that order is filled the building and it's employess are no longer Craftsman's problem. They don't have to worry about needing a steady supply of request to come in and keep people working. This way, if it takes them a year to sell off an order - so be it. No sweat off their backs. Most products are contracted out to manufacturing facilities for this same reason. From dog food to pasta.. It's a cheaper inital investment for them, and although each production run might be slightly more expensive, it ties up far less capital and places very little strain on the compnay. Many big compaies choose to lease rather than buy locations for this exact reason. More money to play with every month gives them a much broader choice in how to invest it. Verizon's headquarters is in Basking Ridge NJ. They bought the building maybe a decade ago, and recently sold it for $650.3 million in a buy/lease back deal. So now they might pay more every year to live there, but they freed up half a billion dollars to play with in the meantime. Investors like companies with liquid money. More money = more investors = higher stock prices..

Also Craftsman's advantage over a brand like proto or SK is (was) in their wide distribution capabilities. They are able to make and sell FAR more tools then either of those companies, which drives the price down per unit. That's why you could buy American tools for the price you coould from them. It's the opposite approach to a company like Snap On, which would rather be a lower volume, higher priced choice. They have earned the loyality of a niche group, and have no reason to produce anymore that they do. That's why people pay $8,000 for a tool box. Each one is made to order, so you pay a high price. Could they make more, and cut prices to sell more? Sure - but why bother when they can command top prices and still meet their numbers selling low volume instead.

 

[kctyphoon]

And one of those reasons is trade policies that look like they were negotiated after an all night bender. You simply cannot compete with pennies a day wages when you have to pay first world wages and benefits. Add to the fact that if you export its taxed 40% by the importing country, but if you import there is only a fraction of that 40% due.

Consumers are addicted to cheap, which is why HF and WM have flourished. You cant be cheap when your costs are exponentially higher than the competition.

You can choose cheap and appeal to most, or choose the niche route and present your quality to a seemingly shrinking audience. Tough decision for any company.

An argument can be made that consumers aren't addicted to cheap, but rather depend on it since the decline on the middle class. People will spend money if you put money in their pockets. I'll never understand how middle class people root for other middle class people to make less money. It's absurd.

 

[mmack66]

The thing that really PISSES ME OFF, is we all know that most of the Craftsman tools are made in China. So are all HF hand tools. But HF tools (which are similar quality) are sold at less than 50% of the price !

Most of the good hand tools at Harbor Freight are made in Taiwan.

 

[scissorman]

Who cares, Craftsman tools have been **** for a few years now anyways.

 

[Cato]

Cato, you must concede that living in the Los Angeles basin puts you in a market unlike any other.

Yes, there's lots of crime, but I can walk into a Sears, OSH, Home Depot, or Lowes and just help myself to any tool. Going to any Ace hardware is like bad buying experience.

 

[L.Cheapo]

An argument can be made that consumers aren't addicted to cheap, but rather depend on it since the decline on the middle class. People will spend money if you put money in their pockets. I'll never understand how middle class people root for other middle class people to make less money. It's absurd.

I think its more of a chicken-or-the-egg kinda thing.

What came first? The addiction to cheap imported goods, causing the loss of those good paying jobs, or the loss of the jobs causing the dependence upon cheap imported goods?

It began long before I hatched, but I've seen its effects getting worse first hand. High corporate taxes, high cost of labor, restrictive environmental policies...it's not a level playing field.

Throw in the imbalance in trade...We're setting ourselves up to fail.

What I find absurd is everyone trying to get the most out of their employer, then pay the least for everything they buy, no matter the long term cost. Its unsustainable, and when the music stops...

 

[Mechanical Noise]

Yes, there's lots of crime, but I can walk into a Sears, OSH, Home Depot, or Lowes and just help myself to any tool. Going to any Ace hardware is like bad buying experience.

My local Ace keeps most of the Craftsman in a glass case, too. Just about everything else in the store is on open pegs.

 

[kctyphoon]

It would be sad to see Craftsman get reduced to a few peg hooks on whatever stores would be willing to sell a few items. It's aggravating to see the same 5 ChannelLock tools in 5 different stores and not have a real selection.

 

[franzdom]

Who cares, Craftsman tools have been **** for a few years now anyways.

 

[drink]

My local Ace keeps most of the Craftsman in a glass case, too. Just about everything else in the store is on open pegs.

Some of my local Ace stores have a pretty good selection of Craftsman tools but I don't think they are as big of a selection as Sears. Ace stores do not have the same inventory because they are owned and operated by independent operators that buy a franchise. I have been in an Ace store that stocked SK Tools and other brands also. The SK were kept in a glass case like you described.

 

[arz71]

They already have sold the name out it is all made by some GULAG in China.

At one point in time Sears was a quality high quality store. Now it is like the rest just China made imports with American names glued on long enough to be sold.

 

[buba]

http://money.cnn.com/2016/05/26/investing/sears-kmart-kenmore-craftsman/index.html

Inevitable since Sears is clearly in a death spiral, but I wonder where it will go.

A big box store? Existing tool company?

Eddie extended a personal loan to Sears hld for ~$400M or so within the last couple of years. He would want that repaid before his hedge fund closes the doors for good and takes the write offs. Selling off the Craftsman brand could cover that

 

[drink]

Currently I should have an adequate supply of Craftsman tools. If Sears goes away and I need warranty I will try contacting the factory to get warranty. Has anybody tried returning all of their tools to Sears for a full refund yet because of being dissatisfied with all the **** being pulled? Slipping warranty service, offshore production leading to offshore replacements of USA tools, fewer locations, lower quality with same prices, etc. can cause a huge drop in satisfaction.

 

[IndyGarage]

An argument can be made that consumers aren't addicted to cheap, but rather depend on it since the decline on the middle class. People will spend money if you put money in their pockets. I'll never understand how middle class people root for other middle class people to make less money. It's absurd.

Sears has always catered to the lower middle class. Craftsman tools were never the best tools. They weren't the cheapest or the worst, but they were always far from the best. They were adequate. Same with their power tools, their lawnmowers, their snowblowers, their lawn tractors, their toolboxes and everything else Craftsman.

What Craftsman tools were is reliable enough and cheap enough that you didn't need to shop anywhere else. You could go to Sears and pick up a new lawn tractor and - no it wasn't as good as the one at the John Deere store, but it worked reliably for 5-6 seasons, and got you by. At the same store you could get a new Kenmore washer and dryer and they too were good enough. If you had a young family or money was a bit tight, you didn't need to go anywhere else - 30 years ago you could go to Montgomery Wards and it was a bit cheaper and a bit lower class, but they went out of business because some of their stuff was just above junk. Sears held it together because their stuff wasn't junk.

What changed is the cheap tools made in China became as reliable as Craftsman, but remained much cheaper.

Do not for a minute think Craftsman tools will ever be made in the USA again in the near future. First off, we no longer have the ability to make stuff here. The Chinese are far and away better at manufacturing than we are. If you don't think they can make quality, pick up an Iphone and look at it - not made in the USA. We had the knowledge at one time, we no longer have it. They have it now. The USA cannot compete with China on quality these days.

Perhaps today in a world where we can investigate the best value of anything by spending 5 minutes online before we buy is a world where the value of Craftsman or Kenmore is no longer valuable.

 

[kctyphoon]

Sears has always catered to the lower middle class

oh, ok - sorry Mr. Vanderbilt, lol.. I think a lot of people would disagree with you. I find it funny a statement like that is made in here, where apparently a person's class is determined by their tool purchases - yet many people buying top tier tools probably don't fit your description of what "upper middle class" must be.. Would love to here a detailed explanation on this.. I didn't realize there were so many wealthy mechaincs and that's why they were all buying from tool trucks.. Also, where I live, upper middle class people aren't buying their own lawn mowers..

Also, you are confusing that craftsman is not Sears.. They are two very different things.

 

[Moparman390]

So I let this roll on for a while for my amusement. Here's what I think is most likely to happen with Craftsman in the near future.

A few background things first:

A. Craftsman is not dead. Not even debatable. GJ members might have the view it’s dead to them, but to the general public it’s very much alive. Craftsman has 28.5% market share in hand tools. That makes them the biggest brand, the #1 name in hand tools. They still have 9% of the power tool market to go with it. They also have the largest line under one brand name of any tool manufacturer on the planet. They have one of the most recognizable brand names in American history. Their brand name is probably the most recognized in tools. With the strong legacy they have going back generations, Craftsman is extremely valuable. It will not go away.
B. If Craftsman is sold, the purchaser will still likely honor the Lifetime Warranty. It’s a significant piece of what the brand is built on and would completely tank Craftsmen if it was ceased. No one is going to buy the brand and then shoot themselves in the head like that. They can’t afford to drop it.
C. With Craftsman, Kenmore, and Die Hard being opened in this way by Sears it shows they are giving up on the stores finally and we should see a rapid acceleration of Sears closings in the coming years.
D. If sold off, Craftsman tools will still have some kind of deal to be sold in Sears stores, as long as they still exist.

So that brings me to a few scenarios as to what happens to Craftsman now that Sears is exploring options of expanding it.

1. Most likely scenario, at least in the near term. KCD Holdings continues to own Craftsman, with or without an investment from outside, and expands the retail distribution into whatever new outlets they can get themselves into including big box stores.
2. Almost as likely, even more so in the long term. KCD Holdings sells Craftsman to outside investors as a spinoff and expands the retail distribution into whatever new outlets they can get themselves into including big box stores.
3. Next most likely. KCD Holdings sells Craftsman to another tool company big enough to swallow the brand, most likely Apex or Stanley-BD, possibly Ideal and expands the retail distribution into whatever new outlets they can get themselves into including big box stores.
4. Very unlikely. Another store chain buys Craftsman from KCD Holdings to be their store brand. Realistically only Home Depot or Lowes might be able to pull this off, but I highly doubt they would. Likely would replace their own store brand with Craftsman and warranty their old store brand tools with new Craftsman ones. Menards, Ace, and any other hardware/farm supply store simply can’t pull off a purchase of Craftsman. Harbor Freight and Northern Tool would have no interest, not their business model. Wal-Mart, Target, whomever you want general merchandise retailer, will have zero interest in Craftsman, tools on that level just isn’t their game.
5. And finally my longshot Darkhorse. Amazon, they like to shake things up. Exclusive Iconic house brand. Market pretty much unlimited to the entire planet. Rapid ship warranty returns. Messing with drones. Dabbling in physical stores. Sears of the 21st century. Amazon + Craftsman. Who knows?

 

[Schurkey]

oh, ok - sorry Mr. Vanderbilt, lol.. I think a lot of people would disagree with you. I find it funny a statement like that is made in here, where apparently a person's class is determined by their tool purchases - yet many people buying top tier tools probably don't fit your description of what "upper middle class" must be.. Would love to here a detailed explanation on this.. I didn't realize there were so many wealthy mechaincs and that's why they were all buying from tool trucks.. Also, where I live, upper middle class people aren't buying their own lawn mowers..

Also, you are confusing that craftsman is not Sears.. They are two very different things.

The "lower middle class"--employed, self-sufficient, little or no eligibility or desire for "assistance" programs--of thirty or forty years ago is now the middle-to-upper middle class, because if you aren't that far up the chain, you're on welfare. A third of the nation are parasites. Stagnation of wages, and the increase in expenses has had significant effect on the middle class. The Democrats and the Republicans have been waging war on the middle class for ~60 years, and they're winning.

 

[kctyphoon]

So I let this roll on for a while for my amusement. Here's what I think is most likely to happen with Craftsman in the near future.

A few background things first:

A. Craftsman is not dead. Not even debatable. GJ members might have the view it’s dead to them, but to the general public it’s very much alive. Craftsman has 28.5% market share in hand tools. That makes them the biggest brand, the #1 name in hand tools. They still have 9% of the power tool market to go with it. They also have the largest line under one brand name of any tool manufacturer on the planet. They have one of the most recognizable brand names in American history. Their brand name is probably the most recognized in tools. With the strong legacy they have going back generations, Craftsman is extremely valuable. It will not go away.
B. If Craftsman is sold, the purchaser will still likely honor the Lifetime Warranty. It’s a significant piece of what the brand is built on and would completely tank Craftsmen if it was ceased. No one is going to buy the brand and then shoot themselves in the head like that. They can’t afford to drop it.
C. With Craftsman, Kenmore, and Die Hard being opened in this way by Sears it shows they are giving up on the stores finally and we should see a rapid acceleration of Sears closings in the coming years.
D. If sold off, Craftsman tools will still have some kind of deal to be sold in Sears stores, as long as they still exist.

So that brings me to a few scenarios as to what happens to Craftsman now that Sears is exploring options of expanding it.

1. Most likely scenario, at least in the near term. KCD Holdings continues to own Craftsman, with or without an investment from outside, and expands the retail distribution into whatever new outlets they can get themselves into including big box stores.
2. Almost as likely, even more so in the long term. KCD Holdings sells Craftsman to outside investors as a spinoff and expands the retail distribution into whatever new outlets they can get themselves into including big box stores.
3. Next most likely. KCD Holdings sells Craftsman to another tool company big enough to swallow the brand, most likely Apex or Stanley-BD, possibly Ideal and expands the retail distribution into whatever new outlets they can get themselves into including big box stores.
4. Very unlikely. Another store chain buys Craftsman from KCD Holdings to be their store brand. Realistically only Home Depot or Lowes might be able to pull this off, but I highly doubt they would. Likely would replace their own store brand with Craftsman and warranty their old store brand tools with new Craftsman ones. Menards, Ace, and any other hardware/farm supply store simply can’t pull off a purchase of Craftsman. Harbor Freight and Northern Tool would have no interest, not their business model. Wal-Mart, Target, whomever you want general merchandise retailer, will have zero interest in Craftsman, tools on that level just isn’t their game.
5. And finally my longshot Darkhorse. Amazon, they like to shake things up. Exclusive Iconic house brand. Market pretty much unlimited to the entire planet. Rapid ship warranty returns. Messing with drones. Dabbling in physical stores. Sears of the 21st century. Amazon + Craftsman. Who knows?

How dare you bring something like facts into the discussion.. Lol.. I agree with much of what you said, with the exception of someone like Apex or Ideal being more likely to acquire that crafstman identity over a chain store like Lowes. Unless Apex plans on getting into the lawn and garden business, and power tool business, that's a huge chunk of craftsman's profitable areas that would simply be dissolved, or would have to be liscenced out to a large chain like HD or Lowes anyway.

Usually, in large acquisitions, the company with the most to gain AND the most to lose would be the better fit if they are currently in the same market or planning to expand. As long as they can afford the price. None of us have a crystal ball, so of course this is all just for fun.

In my eyes, just a hand tool company is out, cause craftsman is in far too many areas of the market they could cover, and they would just be paying for a name they could never fully capatailze on. That doesn't seem like the best investment to Me.

The slowest selling ( I'm guessing) house brand resides in the second largest big box store. That seems like a far better investment to a compnay that is already in every market craftsman covers. 1840 retail locations sounds like a good home to me.

http://toolguyd.com/5-lowes-kobalt-disappointments-2013/

 

[Daedalus]

Very astute comments, Moparman. I'll take your word for it they have 28.5% market share, but how fast is that dwindling? Like many others here, it's hard for me to fathom why anyone would continue to hold the brand in high regard when the stuff is made overseas. If Harley Davidson began offshoring production, but cut their prices by 20%, would it be a success or an abysmal failure?

 

[kctyphoon]

Very astute comments, Moparman. I'll take your word for it they have 28.5% market share, but how fast is that dwindling? Like many others here, it's hard for me to fathom why anyone would continue to hold the brand in high regard when the stuff is made overseas. If Harley Davidson began offshoring production, but cut their prices by 20%, would it be a success or an abysmal failure?

The only brand that holds more total market share is Stanley Black And Decker, and I assume that is a total across its dozen or so identities. When it comes to power tools, craftmans is low on the chart, but their name it still present unlike house other brands.

When did craftsman cut 20% off its prices to reflect offshoring? The complaint has always been "I'm paying the same I was for USA made tools as I am for made in China now". - but people still buy them..

As far as the Harley comparison goes, yes the brand would suffer from the die hards, but a cut in price would bring in many new buyers. So long as they still made a good performing product comparable to what was available in that price range. But that is a different animal all together, lets stick with tools.

 

[Revelations]

 

[Daedalus]

When did craftsman cut 20% off its prices to reflect offshoring? The complaint has always been "I'm paying the same I was for USA made tools as I am for made in China now". - but people still buy them..

MSRP might be the same, but the sale prices seem cheaper. I began stocking up on tool sets when they began off-shoring them. Looking at the sets online now, the prices of the sets closest to the ones I bought are less than what I paid, and I thought I was getting really good sales prices then. The 20% is just a ballpark estimate.

 

[tjpavlov]

Just wondering, but is part of the problem that so many of these tools are once in a lifetime purchases? I bought a nice craftsman USA made socket set probably less than ten years ago. Aside from possibly some half inch impacts, I am pretty much set for at least a few decades. What is going to get me back into a sears store?

 

[kctyphoon]

Just wondering, but is part of the problem that so many of these tools are once in a lifetime purchases? I bought a nice craftsman USA made socket set probably less than ten years ago. Aside from possibly some half inch impacts, I am pretty much set for at least a few decades. What is going to get me back into a sears store?

Your good experience with their tools.. Again though, Sears is much more than just craftsman..

 

[rooster shooter]

Sears has always catered to the lower middle class. Craftsman tools were never the best tools. They weren't the cheapest or the worst, but they were always far from the best. They were adequate. Same with their power tools, their lawnmowers, their snowblowers, their lawn tractors, their toolboxes and everything else Craftsman.

What Craftsman tools were is reliable enough and cheap enough that you didn't need to shop anywhere else. You could go to Sears and pick up a new lawn tractor and - no it wasn't as good as the one at the John Deere store, but it worked reliably for 5-6 seasons, and got you by. At the same store you could get a new Kenmore washer and dryer and they too were good enough. If you had a young family or money was a bit tight, you didn't need to go anywhere else - 30 years ago you could go to Montgomery Wards and it was a bit cheaper and a bit lower class, but they went out of business because some of their stuff was just above junk. Sears held it together because their stuff wasn't junk.

What changed is the cheap tools made in China became as reliable as Craftsman, but remained much cheaper.

Do not for a minute think Craftsman tools will ever be made in the USA again in the near future. First off, we no longer have the ability to make stuff here. The Chinese are far and away better at manufacturing than we are. If you don't think they can make quality, pick up an Iphone and look at it - not made in the USA. We had the knowledge at one time, we no longer have it. They have it now. The USA cannot compete with China on quality these days.

Perhaps today in a world where we can investigate the best value of anything by spending 5 minutes online before we buy is a world where the value of Craftsman or Kenmore is no longer valuable.

Oh we have the ability alright, just not the de$ire. It's all about economics. America can put men on the moon and bring them back, don't tell me we can't make a damn screwdriver. Have faith in your country.

 

[Davefr]

Oh we have the ability alright, just not the de$ire. It's all about economics. America can put men on the moon and bring them back, don't tell me we can't make a damn screwdriver. Have faith in your country.

IMHO we have the ability and the desire. (Manufacturing typically yields a higher % of family wage jobs then the service industry).

What we don't have is "air cover" from our government and regulatory system who's constantly adding new barriers to inhibit growth vs. trying to remove barriers to growth.

 

[drink]

So, have you guys figured out what Sears is going to do? Are they going to sell off their brands or keep them? Why don't all of you agree to chip in and buy Sears so you all can try to do what you think is the right thing to do? Just think, all of you can actually own your own tool store, and stock it with all the tools you want. Who needs clothing sections when you can just fill up the entire store with tools? Maybe each of you could have your own brands also!

 

[Mechanical Noise]

Very astute comments, Moparman. I'll take your word for it they have 28.5% market share, but how fast is that dwindling?

32.7% in 2010. 29.9% in 2014. 28.5% in 2015.

Its market share has been slipping. The Craftsman brand accounted for 29.9 percent of U.S. sales of hand tools in the April-June quarter, down from 32.7 percent four years earlier, while Craftsman’s share of power tools dropped to 11.4 percent from 13.6 percent during the same period, revenue share data from the TraQline survey of consumers shows.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-sears-holdings-brands-idUSKCN0QU05520150825

Don't forget that Craftsman has taken on many more vendors since 2010.

 

[kctyphoon]

25% of the total market for ONE brand is pretty good in my eyes. Stanley needs about 20 different brands to accomplish slightly more..

Sent from my XT1096 using Tapatalk

 

[slidehammer]

There's definitely a market for US-made tools, but I don't agree that outsourcing is directly driven by corporate greed. The average American in 2016 doesn't give a **** where something is made, as long as it's easy to get, is cheap, and will work a few times.

I largely agree, but customers must find something distasteful about "Made in China" given the lengths to which manufacturers attempt to conceal this information.

 

[Mechanical Noise]

25% of the total market for ONE brand is pretty good in my eyes. Stanley needs about 20 different brands to accomplish slightly more..

Sent from my XT1096 using Tapatalk

25% is good. But, if I remember correctly, wasn't it more like 40 - 50% in the 70s? That's what I remember, although I could be wrong.

Quick search didn't confirm my memory, but it did turn up this pessimist from a couple of years ago:

Sears also is ceding sales in tools, with its market share expected to fall to 10 percent by 2016 from 25 percent last year, Balter wrote.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...s-appliance-sales-dominance-is-fading-analyst

I don't think those numbers worked out that way, although they are probably closer if power tools are included.

The question for a future owner of Craftsman is -- how much money can it make me? Has Sears trained it's customer base to buy most of their Craftsman stuff on sale -- with points? Have they cheapened the brand too much, not just with the move to China but with **** like the parade of gimmick tools and lobster claw wrenches?

I pretty much expect Craftsman will soldier on in one form or another after Sears folds. I have no expectation that Craftsman will stay as the leader in good tools for a fair price.

 

[Schurkey]

My crystal ball says:

They're not going to SELL the Craftsman name. They're going to LICENSE it based on multi-year contracts. The licensee provides product and distribution.

They can license specific product segments separately. They license hand tools to one (or more) group(s), they license engine-driven lawn and garden products to another group(s), the license electric lawn and garden to someone else, they license hand-held power tools to another group, and they license bench- and stand-mounted power tools to yet another group.

Each group is responsible for product and distribution within their segment; and I suppose there's going to be a "play nice" clause where one licensee gets first-dibs on retailing product from the other licensees.

Sears gets royalty checks until the end of time, and all they have to do is sign their names periodically. Of course, as long as there are Sears stores, Sears will have the right to retail Craftsman-branded product.

Really, this is not so different from the way the business is right now. Each product goes out to someone for subcontracting; and many Craftsman items are already being retailed by non-Sears stores.

 

[arz71]

They used a GULAG freight torque wrench.

 

[Empty Pockets]

IMHO we have the ability and the desire. (Manufacturing typically yields a higher % of family wage jobs then the service industry).

What we don't have is "air cover" from our government and regulatory system who's constantly adding new barriers to inhibit growth vs. trying to remove barriers to growth.

^^^^What he said

 

[zendriver]

Outsourcing is done to head off business failure in a highly competitive field where the consumer chooses based on price above all else.

Believe it or not, there's nothing a business would rather do then sell high end since that's where the highest profit margin is from. (ie Good, Better, Best marketing). However the modern consumer rejects Better and Best and gravitates towards Good. Therefore that's what's offered. If you fail to offer what consumers demand then your business will not succeed.

Outsourcing is done because it increases the bottom line, no other reason. The "field" was highly competitive, when everything was made in the US.

The difference is now people don't have mony any more (many never did), so It's walmart and HF.

If a $10 Chinese torque wrench was not available, they would buy an American made one for $340?

Of course not.

 

[Davefr]

My crystal ball says:

They're not going to SELL the Craftsman name. They're going to LICENSE it based on multi-year contracts. The licensee provides product and distribution.

They can license specific product segments separately. They license hand tools to one (or more) group(s), they license engine-driven lawn and garden products to another group(s), the license electric lawn and garden to someone else, they license hand-held power tools to another group, and they license bench- and stand-mounted power tools to yet another group.

Each group is responsible for product and distribution within their segment; and I suppose there's going to be a "play nice" clause where one licensee gets first-dibs on retailing product from the other licensees.

Sears gets royalty checks until the end of time, and all they have to do is sign their names periodically. Of course, as long as there are Sears stores, Sears will have the right to retail Craftsman-branded product.

Really, this is not so different from the way the business is right now. Each product goes out to someone for subcontracting; and many Craftsman items are already being retailed by non-Sears stores.

^^^That's about the most insightful theory in this entire thread.

So I guess an example of this could be Newall Rubbermaid taking on the CM hand tool brand and selling them alongside their other brands like Irwin.

MTD might take on the CM OPE brand. I would think that CM would be a stronger brand name for MTD then Murray, Cub Cadet, Remington.

That leaves power tools. I can't see TTI wanting CM since they have Milwaukee but maybe Emerson would be the likely licensee since they've always been in bed with Sears.

However where would these licensed CM brands sell? The big box stores are already pretty saturated with their brands.

 

[rooster shooter]

IMHO we have the ability and the desire. (Manufacturing typically yields a higher % of family wage jobs then the service industry).

What we don't have is "air cover" from our government and regulatory system who's constantly adding new barriers to inhibit growth vs. trying to remove barriers to growth.

Corporate America, for the most part, has no desire to manufacture tools, clothes or any other item if they can have it made cheaper overseas. Hence, my no de$ire statement.

On another note, I love Craftsman tools. Grew up with them. My first tool set, bought in 1972 was Craftsman and I still have the whole set. My dad had a garage full of Craftsman wood working tools and both my older brothers had Craftsman tool sets. I still buy them and always will.

 

[Daedalus]

On another note, I love Craftsman tools. Grew up with them. My first tool set, bought in 1972 was Craftsman and I still have the whole set. My dad had a garage full of Craftsman wood working tools and both my older brothers had Craftsman tool sets. I still buy them and always will.

Totally with you up to the "still buy them and always will.". My father revered Craftsman tools and I picked up on that, but for me, the USA COO was a huge part of the value...why I was willing to pay more for them than for any asian import.

So just to be clear, your attachment to the brand is 100% in the name itself, and the USA-made aspect never had much draw for you? You're exactly the consumer that's still keeping the brand alive, but I'm not relating. Is the warranty part of the equation?