It's no secret that Sears is in big trouble. Top executives are leaving, cash burn is at a torrid pace (I think I saw cash balance was $1.7B a year ago, today something like $250M), etc. No doubt the Craftsman tool name and line of tools has some value. Who do you think will buy it?
Where Will Crafstman Tools Land?
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nh_yota
Well-known member
Chen Yang Li Fortune Cookie and Tool Company
PelicanPines
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Don't know who will buy Craftsman but if you want something from the craftsman line... buy it before Christmas... doubt sears will last much into 2017...
This in my opinion will bring out the tool trolls on ebay ... selling even the Chinese lobster wrenches for HUGE profit... I'm not one to rip off others... nor do I expect to fall into the trap of "wanting" that one tool from a manufacturer that is defunk'd
Wonder how all those warranty freaks who turn in a socket with a bit of rust will feel when there is no longer anyplace to return it to. I have seen them turned away already at a local ACE hardware that sells craftsman... saying... if it's not broken we can't warranty it.
This in my opinion will bring out the tool trolls on ebay ... selling even the Chinese lobster wrenches for HUGE profit... I'm not one to rip off others... nor do I expect to fall into the trap of "wanting" that one tool from a manufacturer that is defunk'd
Wonder how all those warranty freaks who turn in a socket with a bit of rust will feel when there is no longer anyplace to return it to. I have seen them turned away already at a local ACE hardware that sells craftsman... saying... if it's not broken we can't warranty it.
Super Sport
Well-known member
There are a few threads on this already. Sears has put the Craftsman brand up for sale, and rumor has it a few big names were considering buying.
My guess is that someone will buy it and you will still be able to buy Craftsman tools. The bigger question is how will the warranty be handled? That, and the quality, will likely not be what they were 10-20 years ago.
My guess is that someone will buy it and you will still be able to buy Craftsman tools. The bigger question is how will the warranty be handled? That, and the quality, will likely not be what they were 10-20 years ago.
Isn't it likely that they will file chapter 11 and drag it on for a while? Bad, short sighted, management has been a Sears problem for a very long time. Them going under is long over due but no surprise. Radio Shack, too
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trainer
Well-known member
Right now the craftsman brand is probably more of a liability than an asset. Billions of articles out there with unconditional lifetime warranty. Nobody in thier right mind would take that on.
30 or 40 years ago craftsman had its own niche, decent quality, good value, wide distribution, good warranty. Nobody else was doing that.
30 or 40 years ago craftsman had its own niche, decent quality, good value, wide distribution, good warranty. Nobody else was doing that.
jallyn
Well-known member
The Craftsman name will live on for the next 50 years due to the brand recognition. Vultures are circling but there is no blood yet. I predict a buyout about six months from now, in mid-2017. Potential buyers will wait until Sears is way down on the rocks before buying Craftsman at pennies on the dollar IMHO.
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Ign
Well-known member
This. It'll just go the way of Skil or Rockwell power tools. Even Fowler or SPI
ultgar
Well-known member
Lowes has Kobalt tools..........does Home Depot (or Menards) have a house brand hand tool line?
Leaflessshadetree
Well-known member
Don't know, don't care.
To me the Craftsman name hasn't meant quality for many years and probably never will again.
It's sad to see a company that was great for so many years having trouble. They used to be a leader in their field.
To me the Craftsman name hasn't meant quality for many years and probably never will again.
It's sad to see a company that was great for so many years having trouble. They used to be a leader in their field.
Moose97
Well-known member
Sears will soon be gone. Likely Craftsman, Kenmore and Die Hard will live on. The real question is what about the independent Sears stores. In my area there are a lot of independently owned Sears stores that sale appliances, TV/stereo equipment, vacuum cleaners, Craftsman tools and mowers. What will become of these stores?
Super Sport
Well-known member
Home Depot - Husky
Menards - Masterforce (although it seems their hardline tools are being discontinued)
Even though they have their house brands, the Craftsman name is far more recognized than Kobalt or Husky.
a52-830
Well-known member
i dont think that a "major player" will be buying craftsman. i think that one of the mid level tool companies will buy it, someone like Michigan Industrial Tools (who make Tekton) will pick it up to offer it as their "premium" brand, trading on the good name craftsman still has with the general public.
while things will continue to be made offshore, hopefully the quality will improve a bit, and the warranty will be preserved.
as a side note, i dont think that the warranty issue is as big a deal as others do. if someone like MIT picks it up, it will be a lot harder for someone to start buying broken tools, replacing them, and reselling the "new/refurbished" ones. other than those people, i think that the warranty flow of tools is pretty small compared to sales, and can be written off as an advertising expense.
while things will continue to be made offshore, hopefully the quality will improve a bit, and the warranty will be preserved.
as a side note, i dont think that the warranty issue is as big a deal as others do. if someone like MIT picks it up, it will be a lot harder for someone to start buying broken tools, replacing them, and reselling the "new/refurbished" ones. other than those people, i think that the warranty flow of tools is pretty small compared to sales, and can be written off as an advertising expense.
Coach James
Well-known member
I have no idea what is going to happen.
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Brownsfan
Well-known member
If I had to guess right now I would say Menards would make the most sense. There is really zero name recognition in Masterforce. So much so that its being replaced with gearwrench. I could see Craftsman in Menards. Lowes and HD have had their house brands for MUCH longer than Menards. Just a thought
JRC3
Well-known member
Never considered that, it's couldn't be any truer.
I wonder if either of the hardware chains are considering it. One of them sells it now, can't remember who. Hardware store customers seem like a good fit for Craftsman tools.
Who the hell would want craftsman? You would be on the hook for that lifetime warranty, millions of tools out in the wild you would be responsible for. You could still use the name, but not sell hand tools. I could see you selling power tools and boxes, lawnmowers and such but not hand tools.
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Keelhauled
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Ace sells Craftsman.
VinceG
Well-known member
The Sears hardware near me in Valparaiso Indiana is closing
RPH
Well-known member
There is no warranty problem for any perspective new owner. They can stipulate in the purchase agreement that they have no responsibility there. Might not make people happy but they don't have too. Ideal was smart to continue to honor SK warranties as they are rebuilding a higher end tool line, and desire to have those loyal customers on their side. Also to bring them to the other lines they are selling.
txz28
Well-known member
I agree with RPH, the new Craftsman owners would simply just not honor old warranties, but it all up to their discretion. Or they could require receipts.
Walmart... Unfortunately.
I've seen almost 100% of the American bicycle industry go overseas in the last 15 years- more so, the last 8-10 years though.
Short story. Schwinn and Mongoose bikes were widely known. The baby boomers knew Schwinn. Gen-X knows Mongoose.
Schwinn filed for bankruptcy and didn't exist for one year (late 80's I believe). They were bought up and high end bikes came out of their facilities. They (along with GT, same owner) went bankrupt again in 2000'ish. Pacific bought Schwinn/GT and then Mongoose in a separate deal.
Uncertain of the future, Schwinn went to department stores and went retro with the beach cruiser and chopper look. Mongoose went to the department store also since Gen-X was at that age of having kids. Since more families go to W than the LBS (local bike shop) they get recognized a lot more.
Pacific however decided to come out with Mongoose Pro for the shops. It was a failure. Customers would say "Walmart has the same bike for $89, not $250". Despite us explaining the difference, the customer saw "a black bmx with a giro". What they didn't get was the double butted chro-moly frame, 3 piece cranks, double wall rims, 3 cross spokes for a stronger wheel, Teflon coated cables and housing (no rust)...
The point? Schwinn and Mongoose aren't bike companies ran by riders with a passion anymore. Instead it's name recognition sold by marketeers slapped on Pacific cycles for the most money they can get for a POS bike with a past good name on it.
This will happen to Craftsman too.
I've seen almost 100% of the American bicycle industry go overseas in the last 15 years- more so, the last 8-10 years though.
Short story. Schwinn and Mongoose bikes were widely known. The baby boomers knew Schwinn. Gen-X knows Mongoose.
Schwinn filed for bankruptcy and didn't exist for one year (late 80's I believe). They were bought up and high end bikes came out of their facilities. They (along with GT, same owner) went bankrupt again in 2000'ish. Pacific bought Schwinn/GT and then Mongoose in a separate deal.
Uncertain of the future, Schwinn went to department stores and went retro with the beach cruiser and chopper look. Mongoose went to the department store also since Gen-X was at that age of having kids. Since more families go to W than the LBS (local bike shop) they get recognized a lot more.
Pacific however decided to come out with Mongoose Pro for the shops. It was a failure. Customers would say "Walmart has the same bike for $89, not $250". Despite us explaining the difference, the customer saw "a black bmx with a giro". What they didn't get was the double butted chro-moly frame, 3 piece cranks, double wall rims, 3 cross spokes for a stronger wheel, Teflon coated cables and housing (no rust)...
The point? Schwinn and Mongoose aren't bike companies ran by riders with a passion anymore. Instead it's name recognition sold by marketeers slapped on Pacific cycles for the most money they can get for a POS bike with a past good name on it.
This will happen to Craftsman too.
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woody 73
Well-known member
Some interesting reading for this mid day afternoon:
https://www.quora.com/If-Sears-goes-out-of-business-does-Craftsman-Tools-die-with-them
https://www.quora.com/If-Sears-goes-out-of-business-does-Craftsman-Tools-die-with-them
woody 73
Well-known member
List of other companies interested in buying the sears craftsman name:
https://consumerist.com/2016/10/04/other-tool-companies-interested-in-buying-craftsman/
https://consumerist.com/2016/10/04/other-tool-companies-interested-in-buying-craftsman/
Hohn
Well-known member
QFT. I haven't purchased a Craftsman tool in a LOOOONG time. Why? The power tools are uninspired tools made under contract, or in many cases just re-badged versions of someone else's tool.
And the hand tools focused more on gimmicky robo-stuff and all kinds of "features" rather than quality at a low price.
Since I discovered that great tools at reasonable prices are not hard to find online, I have little to no use for Craftsman.
And what of that famous warranty? It's clear now it's only as valuable as the closest soon-to-be-bankrupt Sears store.
I prefer quality tools that need no warranty at all to cover a shortcoming of reputation or quality. Hard to find, yes...
Bruce Wayne
Well-known member
I live in Chesterton and I didn't realize this. Do you knowwhen they shut their doors for the last time?
I can see Sears die off but the Hometown stores live on with those three brands, Craftman, Diehard and Kenmore. (Sears's big three)
If the Hometown stores couldn't carry on with the Sears "big three" names, I could see and have mentioned it before that Menard's would be wise to ****** them up, as they would fit right into their current line up. If John Menard was smart, he'd buy it up and bring the hand tool line production back to the US of A. In buying the "big 3" might cost him some cash but it would give him a foot hold across the rest of the US where he may not have stores now but a Sears store exists. It might even bump Menard's ahead of Lowe's and right behind HD.
four.cycle
Well-known member
franzdom said:
True, but you have to admit that it does allow members yet another opportunity to bash Sears and Craftsman tools!
1950mercury
Well-known member
Craftsman tools matter
Bruce Wayne
Well-known member
Blue
Well-known member
A couple months ago, it seemed like Stanley was the favored company to buy-out Sears. Then, all of a sudden Stanley decided to buy Newell's tool lines (Irwin, Lenox, etc) instead. So now, there doesn't seem to be a clear front-runner.
When thinking about someone buying Craftsman, I gotta wonder what someone gets in the deal? Craftsman outsources so much (manufacturing, design, etc), that there doesn't seem to be much there except for the brand names and trademarks. I really wonder exactly what someone gets when they buy Craftsman? It seems like there isn't much besides the intellectual property.
Not to mention, the asking price was rumored to be around $2 Billion dollars. Also, the rumors are flying around that Sears is about to fold. Potential buyers have to be thinking that they might be better off to just wait and buy Craftsman out of bankruptcy, in order to get a better deal.
When thinking about someone buying Craftsman, I gotta wonder what someone gets in the deal? Craftsman outsources so much (manufacturing, design, etc), that there doesn't seem to be much there except for the brand names and trademarks. I really wonder exactly what someone gets when they buy Craftsman? It seems like there isn't much besides the intellectual property.
Not to mention, the asking price was rumored to be around $2 Billion dollars. Also, the rumors are flying around that Sears is about to fold. Potential buyers have to be thinking that they might be better off to just wait and buy Craftsman out of bankruptcy, in order to get a better deal.
ultgar
Well-known member
The Craftsman name meant something back in the 60's and 70's. Growing up, that was the only tool line I knew and could afford. Lately, its become something of a joke and the internet has flooded the market with other hand tools that are better and less expensive. Stanley bought Facom from Fimalac for $494m and they received significant tangible assets. Not sure Sears will be able to get that much for the name.
Farmall450
Well-known member
Interesting how for the last 5 years the guys on garage journal have correctly predicted Sears closing following the Christmas season.
I was in the Woodfield Mall Sears and it was unimaginably busy.
I was in the Woodfield Mall Sears and it was unimaginably busy.