Sears selling Craftsman brand for nearly $1 billion to Stanley Black & Decker

[Dave Lehnert]

Interesting reading the link below it says in part.
To accommodate the future growth of Craftsman, we intend to expand our manufacturing footprint in the U.S. This will add jobs in the U.S.,


http://www.bizjournals.com/chicago/news/2017/01/05/sears-selling-craftsman-brand-for-nearly-1-billion.html?ana=e_chi_bn&u=oSeEVCgGusdAe5aZXXiX%2BA0f071037&t=1483625457&j=76974111

[Paul Wunder]

The Wall Street Journal just reported that the Sears Craftsman brand was just sold to Stanley Black and Decker for $900M. Sears is apparently desperate for cash; I would have thought the brand would have been worth more, but I guess not.

Opinion: A previously mediocre brand will soon become a poor brand

[Gary R Katz]

I doubt this will improve the brand.

[Lewis Justis]

Remember, Stanley is responsible for buying/selling -off, and ultimately destroying what we knew as Delta.

[jim sauterer]

stanley will turn the brand to junk.i have craftsman sockets ratchets and wrenches that are 45 years old.

[Mel Fulks]

I had a bid in for 35$ and I was starting to worry I'd get it! Big in its day but I just don't think it has much credibility now.

[Gregory King]

Knew something must be up. Could not even find a tool catalogue in our local store. Sears electric tools are junk at best. Sockets and wrenches I have had for some time. Good on that end of things.

[Robert Delhommer Sr]

All the Craftsman wrenches, sockets, ratchets, ect. I have are over 52 years old.

[Warren Lake]

I dont buy stanley stuff, had several things that were poor and they had no interest in listening, dealer told me dont feel bad its the same for him. Accidentally bought a centering punch a while back. Stevie Wonder would do a better job. I have a 30 year old Stanley hammer its good. I usually dont say I hate anything for them ill make an exception.

Another major hammer company I wanted to buy a wood handle hammer from all their handles were twisted to the head i looked a five then later saw one at a big box store that was twisted and tilted. Few days ago bought some Delco Tie Rod sleeves, Instead of Mexico open them and made in China. they are going back for Moog parts which I normally mostly buy. I plan on giving away all my Stanley stuff except the old hammer. Last company that sold me that stanley thing said we've never had any complaints, something ive heard before. I sent a photo and they said we are sending your money back and you can keep the product. i showed up a week later said here I dont want this in my shop.

[Art Mann]

I doubt this will improve the brand.

I doubt that it will improve the probabilities of survival for the Sears Corporation either. Their management is about the only people who still think Sears will survive in some fashion.

[Nick Decker]

They'll continue to sell to Harry Homeowner, because he doesn't know any better and wouldn't care if he did know. People that appreciate quality tools have known Craftsman turned to crap long ago.

[Jim Andrew]

Agree with Nick, quit buying anything craftsman 30 or more years ago. Surprised the brand is worth anything.

[Gary Pedersen]

I bought a Standard Stanley 25' tape measure the other day from HD and measured for half a dozen jobs before realizing the first inch was 3/16 shorter than an inch. Held it next to another tape was the only way to really tell. I have bought alot of these and never seen anything like that before. Lesson learned I guess i need to check the new tapes for a while.

[Paul McGaha]

stanley will turn the brand to junk.i have craftsman sockets ratchets and wrenches that are 45 years old.

I have some more like 40 years old. What a good investment those tools were back then.

PHM

[Chris Hachet]

I doubt this will improve the brand.


Bingo. Would love to be able to ahve quality American tools in the power tool segment. What we ahve for hand tools that are American in terms of botique tools is wonderful...

American power tools of decent quality are virtually non existent.

[Chris Hachet]

I have some more like 40 years old. What a good investment those tools were back then.

PHM


A few Craftsman things are still good....!

[Morey St. Denis]

Agreed. The alluring feature with Sears Craftsman hand tools was that lifetime warranty / replacement and in my experience, Sears stores generally honored it without much trouble. Likely this all goes away with B&D running the brand. I have had some limited success with B&D Delta honoring warranty replacement for outright failure as new with their Delta plumbing fixtures brand. Who knows what might develop with the Sears Craftsman proper brand? I own a number of their power tools also, including a vintage drill press. Just informed this week that the Sears retail hardware & tools location that my father worked at part time more than 35 years ago will be fully shut down within 6 weeks. Sad situation, especially considering the plus one hundred more Sears retail stores nationwide slated to close within a few months and the thousands of rural retail employees impacted at the very beginning of this new year...

[Peter Kuhlman]

For so long Craftsman hand tools were well made and durable. Mine were mostly purchased in the 70s and 80s - 15 drawers full - and no complaints. About 5 years ago I went in and purchased a few different pliers - all Craftsman branded. What absolute junk they were. Only used a couple times and just the moisture from my sweaty hands caused them to rust up solid. Terrible metal quality and chrome coating. Also some replacement sockets for those I had misplaced turned out to be junk - again Craftsman branded. Had 2 of them crack. Sure they still have lifetime warranties but who wants new junk? Same with their tape measures - one use in the rain and they go in the trash. Truly sad to see.

What I really miss is the Sears branded paint. Have used it for 30+ years. I only ever purchased the top of the line and would get it when on sale. Superb paint. I cursed Sears when they ended their paint departments!

[Robert Parent]

I would rather buy from Harbor Freight than Sears/Craftsman, Stanley, Black & Decker, etc.... At least at HF I have moderate expectations, fair prices, and they replace stuff without the third degree. Sears/Craftsman has been mostly expensive junk for decades.

Robert

[Bill White]

This is a general comment on the state of retail as we once knew it. Penny's, K Mart, Sears.......all in deep doo doo.
Board of directors meeting, "Let's dumb down all of our stuff without lowering pricing. We'll see how this works."
Look at the once-fine brands that are now being sold in WalMart.
Oh well.......My old Craftsman stuff looks better every day.
What a shame.
Bill

[Malcolm McLeod]

... The alluring feature with Sears Craftsman hand tools was that lifetime warranty / replacement...

My Craftsman (mostly mechanics) tools are 30+ years old - purchased because of the warranty. Oddly enough, I only recall needing to exchange a busted tool once - - and I have abused them mercilessly. I walked into store and held up the (I think) socket to the salesman. He pointed down the aisle, I grabbed a new one, dropped the old at the register, and out the door. Took longer to type this than to do the exchange.

Sad to see a good brand fallen, but especially a shame for the employees.

[William Adams]

Very, very sad I didn't manage to complete my set of six-point metric wrenches.... will have to start making it a point to stop in to Sears stores until I find them all, or give up.

[Cyrus Brewster 7]

... About 5 years ago I went in and purchased a few different pliers - all Craftsman branded. What absolute junk they were. ...

All of their hand tools, including sockets, are made in China, HF quality junk. I would actually go out on a limb and say HF Pro sockets are better.

Glad I bought mine 20+ years ago.

[Dick Latshaw]

This is my oldest Craftsman tool. Purchased in 1960 when I was in flying school at Craig AFB, Alabama. Every student pilot had one - used it to open the tip tanks on the T-33. I think the quality may have declined a bit since then.:mad:

[Tom Blank]

Fortunately, I built my Craftsman hand tool inventory in the 70s and 80s - end wrenches, socket sets, screwdrivers, punches, etc. Back when quality was good and you had little need for the lifetime warranty.

I sent this thread to my kids, they want to know where to go now. I have been out of the hand tool market for some time. Who is the current quality manufacturer?

[William Adams]

Brands I've found to be good:

Felo
Wiha
Starrett
SK
Vessel
Bondhus
Schroeder
Snap-On
Klein
Boker
Allen

Boutique tools such as

Elemen'tary
Silca
Mininch

Brands I want to try

PB Swiss
Volcanic

[Van Huskey]

Brands I've found to be good:

Felo
Wiha
Starrett
SK
Vessel
Bondhus
Schroeder
Snap-On
Klein
Boker
Allen

Boutique tools such as

Elemen'tary
Silca
Mininch

Brands I want to try

PB Swiss
Volcanic



You need to add Wera, NWS and Knipex to your want to try list.

As I see it all the sadness for Craftsman is mainly sentimental, they got passed up years ago and it wasn't due to quality. You buy tool truck tools and boxes to last forever, have someone come to you to buy and replace them and impress the gear-head down the street. You buy European tools if you want tools that feel as good as they look and are truly SOTA mechanics tools. Sure the old Craftsman tools are still around but are not nearly as nice to work with as Wera, Wiha, Knipex and NWS just to name a few. Craftsman still makes a lot of tools that will last the average DIY guy a lifetime and in reality that has become their actual consumer BEFORE they started building to a price point. Professionals and serious hobbyists moved on to better tools that were not only better built but better designed both for function and ergonomics. Craftsman has always been a mid-level tool and today's consumers don't want mid-level tools they want cheap and disposable or top of the line, Craftsman was neither and moving toward cheap and disposable was the only thing that made fiscal sense. They had a lot of goodwill with those that owned Craftsman for years but with a lifetime warranty that goodwill was a financial drag and guys that filled their chests up 20-30 years ago didn't make them money, they cost them money. I moved on from Craftsman years ago when I learned a mechanics tool could not only be functional and last a lifetime but actually be a pleasure to use, there are still plenty of C-man tools in my chests but they haven't been on my radar for a long time and it had nothing to do with quality.

[Ray Newman]

"Craftsman has always been a mid-level tool and today's consumers don't want mid-level tools they want cheap and disposable or top of the line, Craftsman was neither and moving toward cheap and disposable was the only thing that made fiscal sense. They had a lot of goodwill with those that owned Craftsman for years but with a lifetime warranty that goodwill was a financial drag and guys that filled their chests up 20-30 years ago didn't make them money, they cost them money."
--Van Huskey

Agreed!

[Dave Lehnert]

I would like to know if the days of walking into the store , doing a warranty exchange, will be a thing of the past now that Sears no longer owns the brand ?????
Also if they will honer the lifetime warranty of tools purchased in the past?

What are the chances you will send a $10 hand tool back in the mail for an exchange?
I just had a new tape measure where the tip busted off ( not from Sears). Past the store return policy but under warranty. I just trashed it. Not worth the time and postage to send it back. Also run the chance of saying it was abuse and not covered.

[Van Huskey]

I don't think it has been mentioned in the thread but part of the reason Craftsman sold for such short money is Sears can develop manufacture and sell Craftsman tools for the next 15 years royalty free and from then on in perpetuity continue at a 3% royalty rate.

[Curt Harms]

I don't think it has been mentioned in the thread but part of the reason Craftsman sold for such short money is Sears can develop manufacture and sell Craftsman tools for the next 15 years royalty free and from then on in perpetuity continue at a 3% royalty rate.


So China's gonna buy Sears? It seems unlikely that Sears in its present form will be around in 5 years, let alone 15.

[Brian Henderson]

Actually, the rumor is that Stanley is going to build a plant in the U.S. to build Craftsman tools, so that might be something positive to come from this.

[Dave Lehnert]

Actually, the rumor is that Stanley is going to build a plant in the U.S. to build Craftsman tools, so that might be something positive to come from this.




Stanley already has a factory East of Cincinnati that makes rolling tool chests. Be interesting to see if manufacturing there pick up.


https://youtu.be/RcSY3myKEdQ

[Van Huskey]

So China's gonna buy Sears? It seems unlikely that Sears in its present form will be around in 5 years, let alone 15.

While I don't disagree, I would bet they figure a way to continue to sell Craftsman tools. I think they probably have a plan to do that since they could have gotten a lot more money from Stanley if they sold them "completely" and I don't think the top management has any romantic notion about them being around as the Sears we know for another 100 years.

[Van Huskey]

Stanley already has a factory East of Cincinnati that makes rolling tool chests. Be interesting to see if manufacturing there pick up.



They have 10 or 12 manufacturing plants in the US and have increased the headcount in these facilities over 35% in the last 3 years.

[Brian Henderson]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2017/01/05/stanley-black-decker-sears-holdings-craftsman-donald-trump/96192526/

Hopefully more companies will follow suit.

[Van Huskey]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2017/01/05/stanley-black-decker-sears-holdings-craftsman-donald-trump/96192526/

Hopefully more companies will follow suit.

The problem with plants built and opened with risk avoidance as the primary goal is that the plant is poised to be the first one on the chopping block if the risk doesn't come to fruition or when it is negated by other factors. Companies that are large enough to safely hedge both alternatives will do OK, smaller companies that can't hedge both scenarios are forced into a boom or bust scenario.

[Brian Holcombe]

There would be a value in quality tools that you can go and buy off a rack.....like to there used to be. Most of the tools I've bought from BORGs have been light use or single use with the expectation that I would throw them away if they did not perform.

Plenty of companies already exist in the bottom rungs, they need to improve if they want to survive (in my opinion).

[Dan Friedrichs]

This is a general comment on the state of retail as we once knew it. Penny's, K Mart, Sears.......all in deep doo doo.l

I think it's more a comment on the state of stagnating companies that refuse to innovate or change. Nordstrom has been outperforming every other department store for years, and is a golden child of both the market and their customers. Their stores are fresh, clean, trendy, and have merchandise across several price points. Their customer service is legendary, and their online presence is better than any.

Now, name one positive thing about Penny's, Kmart, or Sears.

It's their own fault. Let them die.

[Ray Newman]

Last summer (2016), one of the on-line business magazines/news sites (??Forbes or Business Insider??) had an article about Sears and its prospects for the future. According to the article, back in the early 1990's, Sears had the opportunity to become an Amazon on-line seller. Those fostering the idea said that with Sears' previous large scale catalogue experience, distribution points/warehouses, store net work, etc., Sears would once again be the leading or a leading retailer. Sears did not adopt the concept as it was felt that nothing could hurt the old brick and mortar retail stores.

[Ronald Blue]

Agreed. The alluring feature with Sears Craftsman hand tools was that lifetime warranty / replacement and in my experience, Sears stores generally honored it without much trouble. Likely this all goes away with B&D running the brand. I have had some limited success with B&D Delta honoring warranty replacement for outright failure as new with their Delta plumbing fixtures brand. Who knows what might develop with the Sears Craftsman proper brand? I own a number of their power tools also, including a vintage drill press. Just informed this week that the Sears retail hardware & tools location that my father worked at part time more than 35 years ago will be fully shut down within 6 weeks. Sad situation, especially considering the plus one hundred more Sears retail stores nationwide slated to close within a few months and the thousands of rural retail employees impacted at the very beginning of this new year...

Delta faucets are not owned by Stanley Black and Decker. They and Peerless are part of Masco Corporation.

[Ronald Blue]

Some other quality USA made brands are Armstrong, Williams and Proto. Stanley has owned Proto for a good long time. They are a pretty diverse company and it is using a wide brush indeed to paint them as not having any quality products. They are a corporation and they are in business to make money. Same as every other company. Snap-On sells the Bluepoint line and some of those are imported also,

[Morey St. Denis]

Thank you for that correction Ron,

My bad, I was indeed mistaken about it being a Delta / Peerless brand. That replacement kitchen faucet purchased a decade ago from Lowe's was a Pfister, which at that time to my eye at least, in larger sizes shared certain style characteristics with Delta. Whenever you have a warranty replacement or quality control issue with a Pfister product, I came to learn; you are required to take it up with Stanley Black & Decker as corporate owner and customer service center.

Since then, as time & wear requires, I often prefer to replace household plumbing fixtures with a German make. Through plenty of experience, both personally and professionally, I have come to favor either Hansgrohe or Grohe design. It is my understanding that Freidrich Grohe, son of original founder Hans Grohe, initiated the Grohe AG brand name around 1936. Father Hans remained concentrated on showers and drainage products while Freidrich & company pursued opportunities with specialized sanitary fittings. Interestingly enough, here again we eventually come round to the aforementioned Masco Corp, which presently owns more than 2/3 controlling interest in Hansgrohe SE. Thanks again for affording that opportunity to refresh and enlighten my memory.

[Jeff Ramsey]

I used to pick up broken Craftsman tools at flea markets for a song, take them back to Sears and trade them in for new. That is until one of the new screwdrivers broke. I looked closely at the broken section and it looked like sand superglued together with a silver wrapping. I haven't picked up a broken screwdriver at a flea market for some time. My last screwdriver set purchase was a Klein. Many many years ago Craftsman tools were decent. Oh well ... the clock turns.

[howard s hanger]

I just started replacing my Craftsman with Wera. Great German brand, very innovative and a joy to use. I have been looking for projects to do just to use them!