Today most tools like wrenches, sockets, etc. from a seller that makes any sort of effort to source a quality product are good to very good. It's pretty hard to distinguish yourself in the mid/upper-mid range of hand tools in terms of product. Everyone is working with the same pool of Taiwanese manufacturers. Tekton's strategy seems to be a) source as good of imported tools for the price as possible b) sell them (and support the sale) in a way that feels "premium" rather than treating them like bargain commodity tools, and c) identify areas where you can in fact come out with a unique, higher-end product while still not straying TOO far out of your market range.
This last one is quite smart to me. For tool storage, I'm guessing they looked at the market and decided that maybe the market didn't need another "high quality for a Chinese box but still a Chinese box" clone of US General, Masterforce, etc. What the market IS lacking is options between the US General types and the truck brands. The Rousseau boxes are there. Whether there will be enough actual money-spending demand in that segment to make it sustainable remains to be seen, but at least they are trying something different.
Another example is the US made tools. Clearly Tekton sees that there is a demand for semi-premium US made tools. However, they also know that it is impractical to just decide to set up a plant to make a full line of traditional hand tools (combination wrenches, ratchets, sockets) in the US that require specialized forging and finishing equipment. But they identified some tools (crowsfeet and angle wrenches) that, based on typical geometry, could conceivably be made in a different way- cutting from plate and machining. This requires much less infrastructure and can be farmed out to existing supply chains without needing significant investment by either Tekton or the manufacturers. This allowed them to come out with a US-made line of tools, unique to them, that starts to build a name for Tekton as a manufacturer of US tools and not just another importer of good quality Taiwanese tools. They also seem to be making it a point to use the remaining specialized US tool manufacturers (Wilde and the like) where they can in order to further build the reputation as more than just another importer.
I believe that Tekton truly would like to become a new Craftsman and source their full line domestically, but that's just not possible right now. If their current efforts in "domestic where possible" seem to pay off, maybe that will change down the road. But in any event, at least they are trying something different and seem to be thinking about things/have a strategy. We will see if it pays off.
