Craftsman brand name sold by Sears

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  • LCHIEN
    Internet Fact Checker
    • Dec 2002
    • 20913
    • Katy, TX, USA.
    • BT3000 vintage 1999

    Craftsman brand name sold by Sears

    http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireS...ecker-44570365

    It was just announced that Sears is selling the vaunted Craftsman tool brand name to Stanley, owner of Black and Decker.
    Apparently Sears is continuing financial difficulties and selling one of its last valuable Marques will bring in about 900 million dollars.
    Sears & K Mart will continue to sell Craftsman tools in their stores. I am aware that Craftsman tools are already also sold in Ace hardware stores, the article stated that 10% of Craftsman tools are sold in stores other than Sears/Kmart. I presume that percentage will go up as a result.

    Funny how at one time Sears had the market locked up for non-brick and mortar sales, I guess it wasn't on-line but it was mail order as close as you got to on-line ordering where you didn't interact with a person and the stuff appeared in the mail/UPS. I guess the lesson is that they were the first with the concept but failed to change as the technology evolved.

    The list of B&D product brands is now:Stanley power tool divisions:
    Last edited by LCHIEN; 01-06-2017, 03:41 AM.
    Loring in Katy, TX USA
    If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
    BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questions
  • LinuxRandal
    Veteran Member
    • Feb 2005
    • 4889
    • Independence, MO, USA.
    • bt3100

    #2
    The article I saw yesterday on it, said the main reason they bought it, was to move into the lawn and garden market.
    By the way, that Stanley list isn't anywhere near complete. For sure it is missing Mac tools, Proto and probably a few more.
    She couldn't tell the difference between the escape pod, and the bathroom. We had to go back for her.........................Twice.

    Comment


    • LCHIEN
      LCHIEN commented
      Editing a comment
      Yeah the list was long on Stanley - I just picked the consumer hand tools. I think the MAC and PROTO are considered professional hand tools.
  • cwsmith
    Veteran Member
    • Dec 2005
    • 2737
    • NY Southern Tier, USA.
    • BT3100-1

    #3
    Apparently bigger minds than mine at Sears. Seems ashamed that they are so cash-strapped that they'd sell off their 'cornerstone' brand. While I admit that Sears didn't keep up the reputation of "Craftsman", I always hoped that it might someday turn it around. Guess not.

    I've noticed that for a couple of years now, my local Sears store has been rapidly diminishing. Last time I was there, four sales people in tool dept., but tools were in various stages of neglect. I was only one of two 'browsing' customers. The women and girls department are adjacent, and on the same floor was the appliance and electronics departments. There was one sales person in the appliance area, and the electronics area looked abandoned, with no product display at all. If you found something to buy, other than an appliance, you had to take it to hardware to pay make the purchase. On my way out, I noticed the automotive garage was empty, no mechanics and no cars. Maybe they don't don't work on Saturday's anymore?

    Yet, that local Sears is not on the list to close. We will be loosing our Macy's though.

    Well it looks like there will be no future need to ever go to Sears, now!

    CWS

    Think it Through Before You Do!

    Comment

    • dangre
      Norum Fewbie
      • Oct 2009
      • 78
      • Gardnerville, NV
      • BT3100-1

      #4
      Now that JC Penney's is back into appliances, maybe they'll get back into tools and bring back their Penncraft line. I hope so, because I still have some Penncraft sockets I need to exchange.
      Dan

      In a recent survey, 4 out of 5 hammers preferred thumbs.

      Comment

      • capncarl
        Veteran Member
        • Jan 2007
        • 3564
        • Leesburg Georgia USA
        • SawStop CTS

        #5
        Earlier this year our local Sears cut their hours to 11:00 am to 4:00 pm, then 7:00-9:00 for the holidays. There was a news clip that they were having a hard time finding temp help for these hours.......duuuuuh, I bet not of their terminated workers would come back for a few weeks of long hours, go figure.
        Today they announced the store is closing.
        capncarl

        Comment

        • dbhost
          Slow and steady
          • Apr 2008
          • 9209
          • League City, Texas
          • Ryobi BT3100

          #6
          Since Craftsman tools have been offered at Ace Hardware stores for the past several years, I haven't darkened the door of a Sears, and really don't care to. The Craftsman lline of tools, lawn and garden machines etc.... is pretty much what was holding that company together.

          They've been on a razors edge through the whole economic down turn that started in '07-'08, and at this point, they are merely swirling around the bowl...

          I don't necessarily see this as a good fit for the Craftsman brand though. Stanley has several tiers of hand tool offerings, and obviously power tool offerings at various price points. Craftsman power tools at least have been sourced from just about every competitor to Stanley / B&D for ever, about the only area that Craftsman brings to the table is lawn and garden.... Well regarded mowers, and other lawn machines, but then again, lots of competition in that area. I mean how hard is it to stamp out a deck with some adjustable wheels that you can screw a Briggs and Stratton engine to and spin a blade under?

          I am kind of saddened a bit by this news. I do worry that my old Craftsman hand tools might no longer be exchangeable if say I break a socket... Not a super common occurrence, but I have busted sockets plenty of times...
          Last edited by dbhost; 01-06-2017, 11:58 PM.
          Please like and subscribe to my YouTube channel. Please check out and subscribe to my Workshop Blog.

          Comment

          • cwsmith
            Veteran Member
            • Dec 2005
            • 2737
            • NY Southern Tier, USA.
            • BT3100-1

            #7
            My late FIL is probably 'spinning in his grave'. He went to work for the local Sears back in the late 40's, working in the camera dept. In the early 50's he took over the hardware dept. and when I cam into the family in 1966, that dept. in the Binghamton, NY store was about the best selling hardware dept on the east coast. For many years he was in the annual Sears "Million Dollar" club. Seemed that everybody in the area knew "that short little guy with the bald head, white shirt, and suspenders". People would come down from Syracuse and other distant places in both NY and PA just to buy from him.

            Every one of his dept. members would be trained in every tool they had, what it did, how it performed, how to set up, etc. He insisted that his people knew what they were selling. And every single morning before opening, they's do a 'walk around' to straighten the shelves, ensure the inventory was up, displays proper, etc.

            Several times after I married into the family, Dad would call me up and invite me to go to some customer's home on his day off, to help a guy how just bought a tool and needed some instructions. That's the kind of guy he was.... you bought a saw or whatever, had questions, give him a call and he'd come over on his day off to help you. Those few times that I was able to go I learned quite a bit..

            But Sears changed the whole concept of selling tools somewhere in the mid to late 80's. Printed more information on the packaging, started going with prepackaged screws, etc. and cut most of the 6% commission sales people. The word was "Sell it, not explain it". My FIL hated those last years before his retirement. The job just wasn't fun anymore and the sales were starting to slip, even back then. He made several trips to Chicago, and tried to explain to the management, but their idea was that people didn't care about service, they wanted cheap prices.

            After he retired, he couldn't bear going into the store anymore. "Too much chaos", he'd say. I know that in the last couple of years, the local store is such a disaster, that I rarely go there anymore.

            CWS
            Think it Through Before You Do!

            Comment

            • Pappy
              The Full Monte
              • Dec 2002
              • 10453
              • San Marcos, TX, USA.
              • BT3000 (x2)

              #8
              I am still on the mail list for the Craftsman Club. Got this in my email this morning. The 3rd paragraph addresses their warranty.
              Dear Don,

              I'm writing to let you know some exciting news about Craftsman that will enable us to put even more hardworking tools in the hands of makers everywhere. On January 5, Sears Holdings announced that it will sell the Craftsman brand to Stanley Black & Decker.

              Craftsman is and has been an important part of the Sears family for ninety years. And that’s not going to change. The research and development team at Sears and Craftsman will continue to develop new innovations that will be available exclusively at Sears and Kmart stores and online. However, as part of this transaction, Stanley Black & Decker will gain the rights to develop, manufacture and sell Craftsman-branded products outside of Sears and Kmart, which will make Craftsman products more broadly available in the USA and internationally.

              Craftsman remains committed to maintaining the very best aspects of the Craftsman brand. You'll still find the most high quality tools available at the best value, along with our exclusive
              lifetime warranty on Craftsman hand tools, which has been a hallmark of the brand for generations.

              Sears will continue to have the most extensive range of Craftsman tools and lawn and garden products, along with the same trusted service you rely on. In addition to being sold primarily at Sears and Kmart, Craftsman will soon be available at other retailers nationwide.

              Your membership in Craftsman Club will not change and we will continue to provide you with exclusive offers, tips and information to help you with all your projects.

              Thank you for your membership and loyalty to Craftsman. We look forward to supporting makers everywhere and providing you with the tools you need for many more years to come.

              Sincerely,
              Tom Park
              President Kenmore, Craftsman, DieHard
              Don, aka Pappy,

              Wise men talk because they have something to say,
              Fools because they have to say something.
              Plato

              Comment

              • capncarl
                Veteran Member
                • Jan 2007
                • 3564
                • Leesburg Georgia USA
                • SawStop CTS

                #9
                I've always respected Sears for having a service center locally that repaired and sold repair parts for products they sold. You could buy simular items from other large retailers and had little or no support repairing what they sold unless you carried it to an appliance or small engine repair shop (usually a bunch of flunkies) Sadly they discontinued the repair and parts center a few years ago, I never could figure out why they didn't combine the repair and parts with their auto service centers.

                I just returned from a visit to the local Sears that is closing to see what they had on the 10-25% discount. Maybe Sears should have tried putting stuff on sale a long time ago because their parking lot was fuller that I have seen it in 20 years! Of course no one was buying much though because they stopped stocking the store several years ago. I noticed numerous items where the price and Bar code had been removed from the shelf of so you didn't know what the price. Several items that I picked up that still had the price on the shelf, including items that the price had been removed rang up considerably higher than they should have, and the 10-25% discount reduced it to the regular retail price! Kinda like what some other businesses are getting in trouble for. I told the sales clerk nicely that I would return them to the shelf. ....... my wife wanted to complain to the manager but I told her NO, it's not these people's fault, they are loosing their jobs so leave them alone, I'm not going to ruin someone's day for 50 cents.

                Comment

                • Bill in Buena Park
                  Veteran Member
                  • Nov 2007
                  • 1865
                  • Buena Park, CA
                  • CM 21829

                  #10
                  Interesting. I imagine this will be the end of any new C3 tools, as I believe they were manufactured by Ryobi (TTI) for the Craftsman brand, and I can't imagine that B&D will continue to buy and/or license from a competitor is the same marketspace. I hope the batteries will continue to be available, and hopefully not at ridiculous prices.
                  Bill in Buena Park

                  Comment

                  • capncarl
                    Veteran Member
                    • Jan 2007
                    • 3564
                    • Leesburg Georgia USA
                    • SawStop CTS

                    #11
                    One observation I made in my Sears trip today was that most of the people in the store had not been in a Sears in years. They all had that deer in the headlights look.

                    Comment

                    • LCHIEN
                      Internet Fact Checker
                      • Dec 2002
                      • 20913
                      • Katy, TX, USA.
                      • BT3000 vintage 1999

                      #12
                      My thoughts:

                      Near Future: Obviously Sears will continue to carry and highlight the Craftsman line of tools. That's what they go there for, for many people. That means that they will honor the lifetime warranty that made them famous and probably every other tool company has copied to compete: SNAP-ON MAC, PROTO, SK, HUSKY, KOBALT, even PITTSBURGH. Of course the you'll probably get a better chance of having that honored at Sears Hardware store than at ACE. I assume you'll be able to take your ACE bought Craftsman wrench back to Sears and get it replaced... I guess it gets charged back to a Craftsman account somewhere and not the store. In two years there may not be any Sears stores to talk about. The ;ast Howard Johns just closed last year... think about how ubiquitous they were in 1970.

                      Motives: Corporations buy other companies' products for a few reasons: kill the competition, get the key personnel, get key products & IP, get market share, reduce costs by volume/overlapping overhead jobs.
                      Well Sears' products are not unique, just the name is legendary. no special IP, no proprietary products, all are made by someone else in fact.
                      When I think of Stanley, I think of hammers, saws, chisels, and planes. When I think of Craftsman I think of sockets sets, wrenches, ... wood vs mechanics tools sets.Of course both make both ends of the spectrum and compete.
                      I think in a couple of years here's what we'll see - Stanleys partners will make tools with Craftsman names mimicking their distinct style but displacing the long time suppliers to Sears. Rather than have two lines - Stanley and Craftsman they will still make both with near identical designs to save manufacturing costs but have different logos/badges. Done everywhere. C'man sold in Sears and places where they like Craftsman names and Stanleys sold where Stanley has traditionally sold well.

                      Because Sears never actually made anything themselves.

                      Not sure what that means for long-lived lines like the C3 (portable battery operated tools)tools which I think are made by Ryobi. When I say long lived they went from NiMH to LiIon with new chargers. I got it because the line was broad and I suspected they would be around for a while. I guess nothing lasts forever. Whether they will continue to buy from Ryobi or use Dewalt/PC factory as the OEM is a real question and if the latter then will it become a new incompatible line or will they make plug/battery compatible devices?

                      Oh well, time marches on.
                      Last edited by LCHIEN; 01-08-2017, 10:50 AM.
                      Loring in Katy, TX USA
                      If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
                      BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questions

                      Comment

                      • capncarl
                        Veteran Member
                        • Jan 2007
                        • 3564
                        • Leesburg Georgia USA
                        • SawStop CTS

                        #13
                        Remember when the great AP was the king of grocery stores. I remember the old old timers saying that they nearly put all the small grocery stores out of business. Now they are gone, I guess Sears was just a hold out.

                        Comment

                        • Condoman44
                          Established Member
                          • Nov 2013
                          • 178
                          • CT near Norwich
                          • Ryobi BT3000

                          #14
                          I was doing some truck maintenance a couple weeks back when I broke my 30 year old 3/8" Craftsman ratchet. It was a tight spot under the truck and the plug I was removing was a 3/8" hole so the breaker bar would not work. A few days later I went to the ACE I use near by and got a replacement with no questions.

                          Comment

                          • LinuxRandal
                            Veteran Member
                            • Feb 2005
                            • 4889
                            • Independence, MO, USA.
                            • bt3100

                            #15
                            I am not truly sure about the whole lifetime warranty thing that Loring mentioned. I was thinking most of the tools had that warranty against material defects and workmanship (defects are normally found out about early enough anyway to offer that). What put Sears apart was the satisfaction guarantee, that over the years people got hammer handles replaced, new tape measure inserts, etc. (things when I was younger, were sold in mom and pop hardware stores, to the rest of us without a good Sears close)
                            I don't expect Ace will continue their "partnership" as it was based on exclusivity, based on an employee that is supposed to be privy to that info. But I am not sure if Stanley will worry much about the hand tool part yet (it might just be another die to stamp a different name in production), then they will over the new plant they are building (I expect that will be more lawn and garden). I kind of half expect their Craftsman tool line will eventually be just that a different name on the same tool. Closer to what some of the imported (twice, once from overseas, and once from) Canadian Craftsman tools looked like.
                            Heck, with the other issues Sears has had, I would almost expect, before we see much here, Stanley might try to use the Craftsman name to get into more overseas markets (China, etc).
                            She couldn't tell the difference between the escape pod, and the bathroom. We had to go back for her.........................Twice.

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