The Craftsman tool line has already been sold off by SEARS to Stanley Black & Decker (SBK) and there is mixed news in that but overall the goodness is the brand will survive. (Consumer Reports: What the Sale of the Sears Craftsman Brand Means for You)
Probably the things you want to know are will the Craftsman tools still have the same quality and will they still carry a lifetime warranty. Both are aspects are squishy so the best answer just now is maybe.
The biggest unknown is whether the deal will affect the quality of Sears Craftsman products. In a recent conference call with investors, Stanley Black & Decker CEO Jim Loree noted that Sears currently sources the majority of its Craftsman tools from overseas manufacturers and, in the very short term, Stanley Black & Decker will do the same thing.
- CR
Ed: they don't make Craftsman in America?
Nope. They did but not anymore and that may be part of why SEARS tanked in the first place. Sending Craftsman to China wasn't much different from sending America's favorite cookie, OREO, to Mexico for manufacture.
Ed: Amazon tanked SEARS just like almost all of traditional retail!
That's a peach of a simple answer but hardly anything is really that easy. Loyalty still means everything it ever did and SEARS was America's store but that doesn't mean much when the products are imported from elsewhere.
There was some talk yesterday about SEARS stock has risen fifty percent in the last few days and maybe SEARS can take that money to offer to Amazon to beg for mercy. SEARS has begged quite a bit of money lately but that's no different from running up the national debt by another trillion or so since that has never fixed anything and only creates another form of taxation.
Still the question is whether anything will remain of Craftsman but the maybe not so odd part is SBK doesn't much care about the Craftsman hand tools but rather they're interested in their lawn mowers and other types of hardware. Consumer Report rates that hardware highly but that's probably not the answer you wanted.
While the Craftsman name might conjure up images of wrenches and socket sets, hand tools account for only about a third of Craftsman’s business. Stanley Black & Decker seems to have its eye on Craftsman’s presence in the outdoor power equipment market, and with good reason. "This change should increase the availability of Craftsman products to the consumer—many of which have done well in our testing," says Peter Sawchuk, who directs much of the outdoor power equipment testing for Consumer Reports.
- CR
Unknown if that's good news for you but it's mostly nondescript for me. People rarely need to buy a new lawnmower but there's a constant need for more tools by any serious mechanic. Maybe you have seen the toolbox the best of professional mechanics will own since those things may stand four-five feet tall and cost a king's ransom to fully populate with tools. Doc probably has one of those and there's no telling how much he would have invested in it.
Even Lotho who can make or fix just about anything doesn't have a toolbox that comprehensive or at least I don't think so. There's no need to ask if not Craftsman then what since I know Doc and Lotho started out with Craftsman tools at the center of things.
It's unclear how much the loss of SEARS is just sentimental but there's a whole lot of sentiment which goes back well over a century. Sentiment won't keep a business alive or at least not for long so the recent investments in SEARS don't make a whole lot of sense. Try your luck if you like but don't be surprised if you lose every dime. This kind of investing is probably about as dangerous as it gets.
Probably the things you want to know are will the Craftsman tools still have the same quality and will they still carry a lifetime warranty. Both are aspects are squishy so the best answer just now is maybe.
The biggest unknown is whether the deal will affect the quality of Sears Craftsman products. In a recent conference call with investors, Stanley Black & Decker CEO Jim Loree noted that Sears currently sources the majority of its Craftsman tools from overseas manufacturers and, in the very short term, Stanley Black & Decker will do the same thing.
- CR
Ed: they don't make Craftsman in America?
Nope. They did but not anymore and that may be part of why SEARS tanked in the first place. Sending Craftsman to China wasn't much different from sending America's favorite cookie, OREO, to Mexico for manufacture.
Ed: Amazon tanked SEARS just like almost all of traditional retail!
That's a peach of a simple answer but hardly anything is really that easy. Loyalty still means everything it ever did and SEARS was America's store but that doesn't mean much when the products are imported from elsewhere.
There was some talk yesterday about SEARS stock has risen fifty percent in the last few days and maybe SEARS can take that money to offer to Amazon to beg for mercy. SEARS has begged quite a bit of money lately but that's no different from running up the national debt by another trillion or so since that has never fixed anything and only creates another form of taxation.
Still the question is whether anything will remain of Craftsman but the maybe not so odd part is SBK doesn't much care about the Craftsman hand tools but rather they're interested in their lawn mowers and other types of hardware. Consumer Report rates that hardware highly but that's probably not the answer you wanted.
While the Craftsman name might conjure up images of wrenches and socket sets, hand tools account for only about a third of Craftsman’s business. Stanley Black & Decker seems to have its eye on Craftsman’s presence in the outdoor power equipment market, and with good reason. "This change should increase the availability of Craftsman products to the consumer—many of which have done well in our testing," says Peter Sawchuk, who directs much of the outdoor power equipment testing for Consumer Reports.
- CR
Unknown if that's good news for you but it's mostly nondescript for me. People rarely need to buy a new lawnmower but there's a constant need for more tools by any serious mechanic. Maybe you have seen the toolbox the best of professional mechanics will own since those things may stand four-five feet tall and cost a king's ransom to fully populate with tools. Doc probably has one of those and there's no telling how much he would have invested in it.
Even Lotho who can make or fix just about anything doesn't have a toolbox that comprehensive or at least I don't think so. There's no need to ask if not Craftsman then what since I know Doc and Lotho started out with Craftsman tools at the center of things.
It's unclear how much the loss of SEARS is just sentimental but there's a whole lot of sentiment which goes back well over a century. Sentiment won't keep a business alive or at least not for long so the recent investments in SEARS don't make a whole lot of sense. Try your luck if you like but don't be surprised if you lose every dime. This kind of investing is probably about as dangerous as it gets.
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