Sears to break into several companies - report

[Zeroek]

I was pretty upset that my Mac Tech 1000 box said Made in USA but I heard that it was like manufactured somewhere overseas and put together in the USA. At least that's what I hear. I try to steer away from that Taiwan **** when it comes to tools. I just like tools in general anyways so buying more expensive name brand is what I like to do. I guess spending more money for my tools is better than some young kid wasting all their money on drugs and ****...

 

[krusty the clown]

i fear the downfall of sears is same as home depot=

piss poor management

sales people that dont have a clue about the products

yes but they will still blame it on the wages and benefits they have to pay to thier hourly employees, if there any benefits at all.

 

[NOMAD]

Well, I did my part to help rid Sears of their inventory with the $5 coupon. Now I guess I'll look forward to "store closing" sales! Yay!

 

[Rickster]

Sears marketing seems to have taken a bad turn for the worse a while ago. Used to be trade on the Craftsman name for quality. Now it seems there's always Bob Vila touting the latest Craftsman gimmick tool; lighted screwdrivers, robogrips, tool boxes with internet capability or crossforce wrenches. They need to shed the gimmicky stuff alltogether or push it onto the Companion line where it belongs. I've gotten great deals on tools like SK, MAC and even SnapOn at garage sales where the guy says "I'da charged you more if those were Craftsman". They still have that rep in households but lately they've been on a gimmic binge to attract some demographic, but I don't know who.

 

[Junkman]

Well, I did my part to help rid Sears of their inventory with the $5 coupon. Now I guess I'll look forward to "store closing" sales! Yay!

I wouldn't be too eager to see Sears or any other store closing, because of the effect it will eventually have on your own life. All business is interconnected in some way or another. When a store closes, people loose jobs, and in turn, they don't have the income to buy products that they normally would. That in turn causes other business to fail, and then the domino effect is had. We are in a full blown depression. If you don't have a job when the "store closing" sales start, how far do you think that your savings are going to carry you? Do you think that you will have enough to squander on tools that you don't need?

In November, nearly 1.4 million people -- almost one in five of those unemployed -- had been jobless for at least 27 weeks, the juncture when unemployment insurance benefits end for most recipients. That is about twice the level of long-term unemployment before the 2001 recession.

 

[NOMAD]

I was being sarcastic, but thanks for making me depressed.


I agree about the gimmik aspect of the things they are offering. Sure, handtools that last and do what they are supposed to are not glamorous. They feel they need to advertise and make these "infomercial type" tools like the ugly toolbox with all the plugs and a lighted craftsman logo. I mean, who needs the logo lit and how much extra are we paying for that **** on a plastic with metal face toolbox? That thing lists for $1200 !!

Look a the autozone commercials for their duralast hand tools, those are ok commercials.
Why can't craftsman throw in some commercials bolstering their history and us made items? Sort of a feel good reminder with testimonials from the customers who work hard and use them to feed their families or had tools passed down etc.?

It's not the type of product that flies off the shelf as the next fad but it's a steady stream from those who need it.

I also agree that the pricing strategy is insane. Mark it as a good price and leave it till you get a real sale every now and then.

 

[Stuey]

Now it seems there's always Bob Vila touting the latest Craftsman gimmick tool; lighted screwdrivers, robogrips, tool boxes with internet capability or crossforce wrenches. They need to shed the gimmicky stuff alltogether or push it onto the Companion line where it belongs.

Some of the gimmicky tools are actually quite usefull, such as the crossforce wrenches. I can definitely see a market for those, but the additional cost makes it a hard sell. I bet that at one time a few people looked at ratcheting wrenches and thought "why would anyone ever need those." There was a time when people thought it was gimmicky to put a computer in a person's home.

 

[eschoendorff]

Look a the autozone commercials for their duralast hand tools, those are ok commercials.

I think it would be fun to pit some Duralast tools against the like of Snap On and Craftsman, MAC, et al and see which ones break first.

 

[fourfeathers]

I know a few auto parts chains sold Craftsman, but wouldn't Autozone and Craftsman make a good fit?

 

[NOMAD]

I bought a full set of Duralast deep and short metric sockets when I started tearing down my BMW because the price was a lot lower than the craftsman equivalent and at the time money was an issue. I have just now been able to make a nearly full set of c-man deep and short sockets using the coupon. I think the Duralast may have a slightly thicker wall than the C-man. They have a good finish to them and fit nicely on the bolts as far as I'm concerned. I asked on this forum about them and all I got was the typical "china junk, go buy snap on" conversation.

 

[Zeroek]

Man what is this coupon everyone is talking about lol. I so missed out on something here. The majority of sockets I got at home are Napa and Craftsman. And a set of Matco Deep well impact sockets. I'd at least invest in a nice Ratchet. I bought a snap on soft grip handled ratchet for home and I love using it compared to Craftsman.

 

[NSXSOON]

Let's not loose sight of Sears Holding Company's true objective:

Sell the underling real estate that Sears, Kmart etc. hold as there true crown jewels and then exit stage left. the financial community (Wall Street) has known this for some time and the breakup into several companies is a means to that end. I see many store closings coming and the property sold in order to produce shareholder returns and big bonuses for the Hedge fund managers that now run the company.

 

[General Lee]

Can't blame it on anything else but people's will to go to HF instead.

Are you talking about Harbor Freight? Hope people don't mind waiting a month to receive their items ......

 

[hguerrero]

Sears actually has three different stores...the brick and mortar is one, the catalog is two, and internet sales is three. They operate as three seperate companies under the same brand, Sears.

H

Sears' tool division as it is needs many changes before it can be trusted again.

They need to do away with their department store pricing. Many of their tools have a wide variety of prices during any given month. Take for example, their 10" drill press. It has a "normal" price of $120.

I've seen it for $90. I've seen it for $100. I bought it for $85 w/ Craftsman Club discount maybe two weeks ago. Right now it's $114 with 15% off. I've also seen it for $110. The only reason they price it in this manner is because they hope to earn extra profit from the folk that pay $120 for it. Its true price is likely close to $99, with anything higher being unfairly inflated.

Sears also pulls similar **** on their tool storage units. They have three prices at any given time, "regular" price, "sale" price, and catalog proce. The store's regular price is much higher than the catalog price, and the sale price sometimes approaches the catalog price. The only explanation is that Sears is trying to take advantage of the naive shoppers, of which there are many.

Sears dilutes their Craftsman line with a lot of junk that should instead bear the Companion label. Also, the mechanics tools go through too many price variations. What is the true price of a wrench set? Is it $30, or is it $40, or is it $60? They play too many games. The fact that Craftsman tools really aren't sold at other large retailers or distributors makes it impossible to determine what the street price is. They often featue a mini GearWrench driver set for $20 on sale from $25. Meanwhile, it's sold at Lowes for $20 any given day.

To make a long rant short, maybe we'll see some reseblance to the old Craftsman reputation if the tool department is allowed to take charge of itself. Get rid of the department store mentality and get back to the honest basics.

 

[rsanter]

Sears actually has three different stores...the brick and mortar is one, the catalog is two, and internet sales is three. They operate as three seperate companies under the same brand, Sears.

H

do not forget that they are also a credit company..

a friend that used to work at sears told me that sears was often more interested in getting you to put it on credit than they were in making a profit on the item. he told me that they often sold things on sale that were close or at cost with the thought that they will make money by all the people that charged it. he worked in the appliance dept, so that may only apply to that section of the store when it come to near/at cost.

bob

 

[Jononon]

I still tend to grab regular fixed end wrenches before Gearwrenches, old habits die hard. No my fixed end wrenches will always be part of what I will consider my core set of tools. If that day ever comes with Gearwrenches it is many moons away.

GearWrench have a far bigger range than just the 'gear wrenches', though. Their fixed end wrenches are very nice quality. As a keen amateur, I think I could make a strong argument for their being as good as I'd ever need.

Let's not loose sight of Sears Holding Company's true objective:

Sell the underling real estate that Sears, Kmart etc. hold as there true crown jewels and then exit stage left....I see many store closings coming and the property sold in order to produce shareholder returns and big bonuses for the Hedge fund managers that now run the company.

Selling or, at least, leveraging the real estate is a big part of their plans, but the WSJ's belief is that Edward Lampert wants to be Warren Buffett when he grows up, maintaining ownership of a loosely inter-related conglomerate.

It depends if his strategy is short or long term. If he really does want to become a Buffett-esque gazillionaire, long term share growth is needed. If he wants a quick buck, asset strip the company and scarper.

Personally, and I'm a long way from being a billionaire, so you can take this with a generous pinch of salt, but I do work in this field (yes, I simultaneously bemoan the loss of manufacturing industry while facilitating making money from real estate built in its place. What can I say, I'm a hypocrite ) , I'd undertake a sale and lease back, unlocking the real estate capital for re-investment in the core business, while retaining some of the current store locations. Either way, it would be pretty optimistic to think that every store will remain open

 

[eschoendorff]

do not forget that they are also a credit company..

a friend that used to work at sears told me that sears was often more interested in getting you to put it on credit than they were in making a profit on the item. he told me that they often sold things on sale that were close or at cost with the thought that they will make money by all the people that charged it. he worked in the appliance dept, so that may only apply to that section of the store when it come to near/at cost.

bob

Guess what... they were right. Those fkers snagged me with a credit card special when I bought some ratcheting wrenches a few years ago... now I just gotta pay the damn thing off!

 

[Spookrider]

They're already being sold at the Orchards Supply Hardware and Kmart.

K-Mart and Sears is one company!!! K-Mart what killed Sears when the merge to become one company.

 

[BrianAltenhofel]

Sears actually has three different stores...the brick and mortar is one, the catalog is two, and internet sales is three. They operate as three seperate companies under the same brand, Sears.

H

You forgot about K-Mart. K-Mart and Sear, Roebuck & Co. are both owned by Sears Holdings. Ken-More, Craftsman, Joe Boxer, DieHard, Convington, Canyon River Blues, Jaclyn Smith, Route 66, Land's End, and Martha Stewart are their house brands.

 

[5.0vert]

do not forget that they are also a credit company..

I think they sold the credit company to Citibank??

 

[le6920]

It should be interesting on how this plays out. If they fade out the C-Man brand or discontinue most of it, that may affect the lifetime guarantee. That *****. If they ditch the C-Man brand, Sears is pretty much done and we'll be talking about the store closing sales. Bummer.

 

[SpiderGearsMan]

snap on is rolling along , building in the USA the best tools known to man

 

[Stuey]

snap on is rolling along , building in the USA the best tools known to man

Snap On is also extremely cost prohibitive for those of us who don't earn a living with our tools. Craftsman is a happy medium between **** and costly.

 

[eschoendorff]

Craftsman is a somewhat happy medium between **** and costly.

fixed.

 

[Stuey]

fixed.

Haha, appropriate correction actually.

 

[wrenchr]

hahahahahaha...........How true!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[wilbilt]

Snap On is also extremely cost prohibitive for those of us who don't earn a living with our tools.

The price will come down as the Asian operations ramp up. I guess this is good news. Let's throw a party.

 

[DavidtheDuke]

The price will come down as the Asian operations ramp up. I guess this is good news. Let's throw a party.

Makes me wonder when the first SO handtool from China will ship.

 

[Merkava_4]

I walked into Sears not too long ago asking for the location of a 15mm x 17mm line wrench:

Sears employee: "What's that?"

Me: "Well, sometimes it's also called a flare nut wrench; do you have any of those?"

Sears employee: "What's a flare nut wrench?"


Sears can close up forever as far as I'm concerned.

 

[krusty the clown]

Makes me wonder when the first SO handtool from China will ship.

it already has.......see the ratcheting wrench thread. taiwan......china whats the difference. it ain't usa. i even asked the snappy guy today if the bp and so ratchet wrenches were made in the same plant. he said "probably".

 

[Thumper]

Quote< "Why can't craftsman throw in some commercials bolstering their history and us made items? Sort of a feel good reminder with testimonials from the customers who work hard and use them to feed their families or had tools passed down etc.?.." >

Well they did just that many years ago with A.J. Foyt talking about using his Dads and Grandfathers Craftsmen tools and bragging on them. Probably about 10 years ago this aired during racetime on Sundays.

 

[wrenchr]

YAH, The add would go like this.........Every scar on my knuckles are from crapsman ratchets. lol

 

[DavidtheDuke]

it already has.......see the ratcheting wrench thread. taiwan......china whats the difference. it ain't usa. i even asked the snappy guy today if the bp and so ratchet wrenches were made in the same plant. he said "probably".

Taiwan *is* better than China, for more than just quality reasons. Although for SO's prices, unless just for gear parts you have to make an entire plant (I doubt it), they should be able to afford to make it all USA.

 

[Stuey]

I think I saw a Craftsman commercial for their new AXS tool storage chests. Don't even get me started on those.

 

[Red Green]

Well they did just that many years ago with A.J. Foyt talking about using his Dads and Grandfathers Craftsmen tools and bragging on them. Probably about 10 years ago this aired during racetime on Sundays.

I remeber seeing those comercials they came out.

 

[wrenchr]

They could come out with a Larry the cable guy add.
Git - R - Done wit craftsman!!!

 

[krusty the clown]

Taiwan *is* better than China, for more than just quality reasons. Although for SO's prices, unless just for gear parts you have to make an entire plant (I doubt it), they should be able to afford to make it all USA.

i understand the politcal reasons that taiwan is better than china but from where i stand if it ain't made here i don't want them. at least the matco/armstrongs are made here.

 

[jgwood]

Im new here and dont whant to step on any toes Kamart bought sears out abou 4 yrs ago.thats why you can buycraftsman at kmart.Craftsman power tools are made by ryobi or at least as o 4 yrs ago.ther sockets are made by a company called esco not shure of the spelling they make husky for hiome depot thats why you can swap out craftsman at home depot i belive ther wrenches come from the same company also not shur about plyers or screw drivers.Esco i belive is part of s k tools not sure of that.
When kamart bought out sears they were gowink to keep as much of the company intact for somany years then they were gowing to market some of the brands out to other retailers like craftsman tool and any thing under the die hard name. This info is a few yrs old it came from my brother in law who retired from sears as an accontant a few yrs back.Also had a few friends that had kmart stock that is wourth nouthing hafter they filed for bankrupcy got the protection then bought sears the same year
gregg

 

[jgwood]

Forgot i love this site
gregg

 

[eschoendorff]

Im new here and dont whant to step on any toes

No worries.

ther sockets are made by a company called esco not shure of the spelling they make husky for hiome depot thats why you can swap out craftsman at home depot

Not true. The Craftsman sockets are sourced from Danaher, the Huskies are sourced from Stanley overseas.

i belive ther wrenches come from the same company also

Not true either. See "sockets"

not shur about plyers or screw drivers.

They are eitherfrom Pratt-Reed or Western Forge in CO

Esco i belive is part of s k tools not sure of that.

Wrong again. Easco is part of Danaher.