Didn’t see this anywhere. Figured I’d share. Announced early today. Lowe’s to begin selling Craftsman in 2018.
As a Craftsman fan, Frankly, I’m not terribly excited. While it’s good to see SBD trying to do something with Craftsman, the square footage of Lowe’s tool section (at least around here) is considerably smaller than Sears’ tool section, and only a fraction of it will be devoted to Craftsman, whereas Sears obviously devoted nearly all the tool section to Craftsman.
The Lowe’s Craftsman items will all be SBD stuff. It will be 100% different than what Sears has or will be selling (if they are still afloat). The Lowe’s rollout could be the first look we get at the new SBD Craftsman line-up. Ace Hardware and other retailers offering Craftsman are selling Sears Craftsman and probably will be for awhile.
One interesting facet of this is that Lowe’s was one of the names kicked around as a potential buyer for Craftsman when SHC indicated they were interested in selling a couple years ago. They’ve thrown a lot a lot money trying to establish their Kobalt brand with mixed results, and they do not carry big brands Ryobi, Ridgid, and Milwaukee that main competitor Home Depot does. Many thought it a wise move to drop the Kobalt name and pick up the much bigger Craftsman name.
Lowes is smaller - with less clout in most markets than Home Depot. It is, therefore, not surprising that TTI cut a deal with HD to lock Lowes (Amazon too) out of sales for their Milwaukee, Ridgid and Ryobi brands of power tools. Ridgid plumbing tools (Emerson Electric is the parent - not TTI) are of course sold elsewhere. But HD has licensed the name to apply to tools (like shovels) that they buy from other OEM’s. I’m not sure that Ryobi and Ridgid power tools are sold (other than as gray market items) anywhere other than at Home Depot. Lowes does offer Hitachi and Metabo tools - not offered at HD and sells Bosch, Dewalt and Porter Cable power tools - plus their house brand Kobalt line. Home Depot adds to their TTI (Milwaukee, Ridgid and Ryobi) power tool lineup - with Bosch, Dewalt, and Makita. But HD has not developed their Husky brand into much (some pneumatics bear the brand name) of a power tool player.
Thanks - I hadn’t paid attention to their store count. I knew where they stood on the Fortune 500 list (#23 for HD and #40 for Lowes) Both giants but well behind other behemoths of the retail trade like WalMart (#1),McKesson (#5), CVS (#7), Amazon (#12), Costco (#16) and Walgreens ( #17) in terms of revenues
Stanley’s stockholder informatiin mentions an agreement for distribution with Ace Hardware, and regional retailers that already carry Craftsman. Last I heard, Summit Racing is in talks to carry the Stanley Craftsman line as well.
I’ve noticed that Home Depot tends to stick to larger cities with easy access to interstate highways, often outnumbering Lowe’s in those areas, while Lowe’s has a presence in many smaller towns that lack a HD. Having lived in Georgia for the past six years, I found it odd that Lowe’s has such a presence in Home Depot’s home state. Waycross, Vidalia, Statesboro, and other towns only have Lowe’s, while Savannah and especially Atlanta have at least two Home Depots for every Lowe’s.
I have nothing more productive to offer at the moment. Just an observation of how Lowe’s presence in smaller populated areas helps ti fill the gap in number of stores.
Fm2176 - maybe you have something in your observation.
My primary residence is in a suburban area - where there are 11 HD’s within a 10 mile radius but only 2 Lowes (5.5 to 1).
My winter place is about 15 miles in different directions from 2 different HD’s The nearest Lowes is about 20 miles away (2 to 1).All three are off the island.
Our summer place in a more rural coastal area is about 30 miles from the 2 nearest HD’s but the Lowes is about 2 miles away.