Craftsman is a company engaged in manufacturing mechanical, and electrical tools, lawn and garden equipment, and work-related tools. It was first introduced in May 1927, that is; about 95 years ago as a house company to Sears, a retail firm. And Lowe’s is a retail chain of hardware stores that grew in business over the years. Rumors have it, that Craftsman is owned by Lowe’s. Is it true? Let’s take a look.
Lowe’s doesn’t owned or manage Craftsman. The brand is managed by Stanley Black & Decker, a company that is engaged in manufacturing industrial and household tools.
History of ownership of Craftsman
Craftsman wasn’t originally owned by Stanley Black & Decker. It was the trademark of Sears. In May 1927, Arthur Barrows, the manager of Sears hardware department, registered the company name along with another employee, Tom Dunlap. Their focus was to provide their customers with quality technical and mechanical tools with high resistance. Under the ownership of Sears, Craftsman didn’t manufacture its tools. Their products were first sold in Sears retail stores.
After successfully doing business for years, the company’s revenue started decreasing. After struggling for a few years, the company decided to sell the brand Craftsman to Stanley Black & Decker. On January 5, 2017, Stanley Black & Decker bought the rights to Craftsman for $900 million. With paying $525 million at the end of the current year to close the deal and $250 million after three years. Although, Sears didn’t give up the rights of its brand completely. It still has the rights to manufacture and sell tools using existing supply channels for about 15 years using the brand name. But their situation hasn’t improved even after that and Sears’ Craftsman is on the brink of bankruptcy.
Lowe’s and Craftsman
Stanley Black & Decker decided to make some changes in Craftsman policy regarding retail stores to increase their sales. Up till now, Craftsman tools were only limited to Sears retail stores. Stanley decided to increase the stores selling their products to other retailers. In May 2018, Lowe’s announced that they’ll be selling Craftsman tools at their stores thus becoming one of their primary stores. Craftsman tools are also available in their online stores for purchase. Many other retailers like Ace Hardware, Kmart, Grainger, and Menards are selling Craftsman tools at their stores.
Even though Lowe’s doesn’t owned the brand Craftsman; they do own another tool brand Kobalt which is manufacturing tools since the year 1998. This brand was introduced as a rival of Craftsman and The Home Depot; although they are sold in the same stores as of now.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Lowe’s doesn’t have ownership of the Craftsman brand but they are one of the retail locations selling the brand’s products in their stores. The current owner of the brand is now Stanley Black & Decker and they’ve increased their supply chain using various retail stores to store and sell their tools.
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
- What does the V mean in tools manufactured by Craftsman?
The V in tools means that they belong to the new special series of Craftsman tools. This is a new series of machine tools designed by keeping high performance and professionalism in mind. They have sockets, screwdrivers, jacks, and many such mechanical tools. They also come under a lifetime warranty so that you can exchange the damaged product for a new one.
- Is Kobalt been replaced by Craftsman tools in Lowe’s stores?
Many speculated that by selling Craftsman tools in their retail shops. Lowes is abandoning its home brand. But it isn’t true. Lowe’s won’t turn a blind eye to its own brand Kobalt. However, it is amusing that both Kobalt and Craftsman tools can be found together at Lowe’s stores. This is because Kobalt was introduced as a rival brand of Craftsman.
- Is Craftsman still a brand?
Craftsman is now a brand owned and managed by the Stanley Black & Decker company. However, Sears still has the right to manufacture products under the Craftsman name for about 15 years after the deal. Hence, Craftsman selling rights are distributed between two firms.
- Have Craftsman tool quality decreased over the years?
One of the major reasons for the downhill of Craftsman under Sears was that it didn’t pay enough attention to the quality and the products weren’t manufactured by them. They labeled their products as Made In USA, even though they weren’t. They’ve introduced their tools as a Made In USA product and they didn’t even try to rectify this error until they had to face a lawsuit. Another reason was the difficulty in getting a lifetime warranty on the product. When Stanley bought the brand, the first goal it made for itself was to regain the lost reputation of Craftsman.
