Bosch kicked out of my local HD

[durango dude]

was walking the aisles of my local orange temple, and noticed that all the Bosch stuff is gone ----- there's a few pieces in the clearance end-cap.

Talked to store manager - and he said the Bosch inventory simply doesn't move fast enough for the powers-that-be ------ so they decided to close it out.

There were two nice Bosch routers in the end-cap --- for $150 each.
(2.3 HP model)

[chopnhack]

Wow, so the crappier products that sell volume are going to be preferred? A lot of business are not stocking expensive items preferring to order them on demand. A lot of folks wont wait, they will just go home and order it from somewhere and get free shipping... doesn't this play into a bad cycle for the brick and mortar places??? Management should get a clue. Its a tight balance, but you can't sell what you don't own

[leehljp]

Wow, so the crappier products that sell volume are going to be preferred? A lot of business are not stocking expensive items preferring to order them on demand. A lot of folks wont wait, they will just go home and order it from somewhere and get free shipping... doesn't this play into a bad cycle for the brick and mortar places??? Management should get a clue. Its a tight balance, but you can't sell what you don't own

Agreed! I have found another lumber store in the south Memphis area that sells much better quality ply and lumber at prices competitive with the Big Box stores. That and less quality tools causes me to visit them less and less. I have gotten to the point that when I am about to purchase something at the box stores, I check online at Amazon and then at the Box stores. If the Box store doesn't have it, I order it. They will match Amazon's price if they have it.

[vaking]

In my HD the appliance section consumed probably half the store. Appliances provide very high profit margin as I heard.

[cwsmith]

Unfortunately, I think the top management has seriously diminished the foundation of Home Depot original purpose. IMHO, it seems that 'fast moving inventory' is the only focus they have anymore.

Both the stores that I used to regularly visit are now only on my "if can't be found anywhere else" list. Within the last two years, I've found the stores to be increasingly frustrating. The tool corral at the store here in the Binghamton area is overwhelmingly stocked with tool bags. No more stationary tools at all. Lowes is actually offering a better selection in that regard, and they are 'nothing to be proud of'.

"Seasonable" goods now occupy almost the entire front quarter of the store and they've added more "robot" cashiers (self-service checkouts) and I refuse to use those.

Even the board lumber isle is dimished, as it is now in the narrowest isle in the store, with the lumber stacked vertically.... the isle is so narrow you can't get the stock out to sort through it.... ridiculous! For the first time, I'm finding the lumber stock much better quality at Lowes', but the local lumber yard is still the best, though more expensive.

Not sure how many tools still get purchased at HD, but the parking lot at the new HF is always full and the isles crowded.

CWS

[hd5]

In my HD the appliance section consumed probably half the store. Appliances provide very high profit margin as I heard.

Not trying to be a smart alek, but you heard very very wrong. I work in an tv, appliance and furniture store. And there is almost no margin left in appliances and profit is all but non existent in video products.

There are times the local HD promotes appliances at prices lower than our cost.

[Cochese]

The money with everything is with service contracts, which is why the appliance department can be profitable - it's not the product, it's the warranty.

HD's big overhead is the store itself, so they have to stock products that move. Same with any retailer, but doubly so for ones who have such a big footprint both in coverage and number of stores.

Woodcraft can have these specialty products because their overhead is lower - smaller stores, less of them. There's six in Texas, HD has 25 stores in the Dallas area alone.

HD and Lowes really have never been about the woodworker. They're about the contractor, the carpenter and the homeowner.

[All Thumbs]

All that matters in retail is RPSF (Return Per Square Foot). The software at any big box tells them where any brand falls within their overall rankings.

So in this case, Bosch tools either don't have a high enough velocity (due to higher prices compared to other brands carried), don't have enough margin, or a combination of the two.

As the price of tools increases, so do the chances of finding the same products online at a steep discount (with the highly protected Festool line being a rare exception). So the big box store knows they're "showrooming" products that a certain percentage of customers will simply order online.

More big boxes are finding a haven in appliances. Most people still purchase appliances locally, and appliances are protected lines, meaning they aren't typically available to deep discounters. Service contract or not, big box stores make a killing on appliances. Thus the higher RPSF and the greater allocation of square feet to appliances.

[sscherin]

I understand the need to maximize profits but I wonder if they are hurting repeat business in the process.

Back in the late 90's my wife and I would drop into HD on a regular basis to look at the tools and lighting and fixtures just to see what was new and what we liked.. There was hardly trip where we didn't get something while we were there.. be it light bulbs, cleaning supplies, paints and whatnot. Things I wouldn't have made a specific trip to HD for but I was there so why not right?
It brought me here when I got my BT3100, I bought saws, drills, joiners routers, and all the hardware that went with the projects I made with them there. Most of these we impulse buys. I was there.. It was on sale.. My wife (not wanting to be left out) also got an equal amount of stuff. A WIN WIN for HD..

These days we almost never stop there.. I see it as a form of torture just to walk in the door. All the big expensive tools I would linger and drool over are gone.. I get what I came for and get out..

[BigguyZ]

Menards' tool crib isn't superb, but they do have a Rikon bandsaw, delta floor standing drill press, and the delta midi lathe... They also have air filters and delta dust collectors. At this time, they have a much larger selection of toys, I mean... Tools.

[All Thumbs]

I understand the need to maximize profits but I wonder if they are hurting repeat business in the process.

Well they might not be hurting repeat business (after all, appliances don't last anywhere near as long as they used to).

But what you are seeing is herd mentality at its finest. Everyone chases the margins of appliances, and nobody stays behind covering tools. So now you have all the big boxes devoting more and more real estate to refrigerators, and the customers/prospects willing to pay a premium for Bosch or Makita have nowhere to go, they HAVE to go online, because the home centers have huge holes in their tool lines.

And in a few years you will see someone like Amazon go into appliances and offer "white-glove" delivery that one-ups the big boxes somehow. Maybe lower prices, greater selection, faster delivery, who knows. What are the big boxes going to do when Amazon comes out with their own line of appliances that are compatible with the Kindle, delivered a day or two after they're ordered, and installed by qualified professionals?

IMHO, the management of the big boxes (all of them) are playing a reactionary game. They wait to see what Amazon does next, and then they react. Well, it has been check check check. Check-mate is on the way, it is just a matter of time.

[sscherin]

And in a few years you will see someone like Amazon go into appliances

They already do with free shipping..

http://www.amazon.com/gp/browse.html...A38F1REGZFNN6L

[mpc]

Sscherin pretty much summarized my feelings exactly. HD was fun to browse through when they first arrived... these days not so much. The tool section is mostly cordless tool sets and miter saws that contractors might want; the other power tools tend to be nothing but the small/entry level type of things: benchtop saws, small bandsaws, etc. Nothing "lifetime" in durability or "this is all I'll ever need" sized saws. I used to make a driving loop after work on Fridays hitting the local HD, Woodcraft, and a couple other places... not any more. Sears is similar; the tool section in the stores is generally small stuff to make more room for TVs.

Reducing the tool isles at HD to small color pictures of the power tools didn't help either. Who wants to buy an expensive tool without being able to eyeball its guts to see if it looks quality or crappy, to test/feel the controls, etc?

mpc

[capncarl]

I hate to admit it but our local Sears beats our Lowes and HD hands down on their tool departments. Lowes and HD have been keeping pace, as previously discussed with their downsizing tool dept trends, and Sears have been maintaining their same dept footprint. To bad none of them have any employees that know the difference between a drill and a band saw.
capncarl

[woodturner]

Not trying to be a smart alek, but you heard very very wrong. I work in an tv, appliance and furniture store. And there is almost no margin left in appliances and profit is all but non existent in video products.

Different business model - which is why the small stores have so much trouble competing with the box stores.

Retail markup in an independent shop is in the range of 40% for appliances. HD buys direct from the manufacturer, so they save in the range of 30% and buy the appliances for around 35% of "retail". If they added a 40% markup, they would still be 25% below the independent shop.