I have received a couple of messages these past few weeks, from readers and followers asking about Home Depot stores dropping Dewalt tools.
Why would Home Depot drop Dewalt? This doesn’t sound right.
Anything is possible. Two years ago Home Depot discontinued EGO cordless outdoor power tools just as Lowe’s and EGO announced a new exclusive partnership.
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Dewalt has a huge presence at Home Depot stores, and I suppose that any brand is replaceable, but there’s no real indication of what’s going on here.
Retailers had mediocre showings for Father’s Day 2022, leading me to wonder whether they were saving up inventory for the upcoming holiday season that’s set to kick off this fall.
Home Depot always offers significant Dewalt cordless power tool promotions during holiday shopping seasons, as well as decent hand tool and accessory deals.
That’s the litmus test to see how strong retailer and brand relationships are. Come November – or October if last year’s early launch trend continues – how much floorspace will Home Depot give to Dewalt tools, accessories, and equipment?
Where is this rumor or speculation coming from? A few weeks ago, a reader commented:
I’ve seen a couple Instagram videos from other tool reviewers stating that Home Depot is losing their “deal” with Dewalt, and that is why there are not many Dewalt deals. That their contract ends next year…(!?!???!) Have you seen or heard this?
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I have not heard this, but a couple of more readers brought it up in messages. I know nothing about Stanley Black & Decker and Home Depot’s contract, deals, or arrangements, but even if it is expiring next year, I’m sure it will be renewed.
There’s no Dewalt end cap at Home Depot stores right now? If you ask me, that’s not a big deal. Or, maybe there’s significance behind this, but it’s not something I’m at all concerned about.
I went to my local Home Depot store, and there was a floor display in the seasonal section, as shown here. Although there weren’t any Dewalt tools along the wall, there were still plenty of tools reaching out towards the main racetrack footpath.
This doesn’t look like the end of a relationship to me.
There’s no Dewalt promotional endcap display. So what?
When Home Depot parted with EGO, they moved fast to remove tools from stores and their website.
Walking around my Home Depot store, all of their Dewalt products were where they usually are. There was a side-cap display with screwdriver bit sets, hammers, tape measures, utility knives, power tools, accessories, and so forth.
The store was FULL of Dewalt tools in their usual locations. It certainly doesn’t look like Home Depot is dropping Dewalt.
Dewalt had what looked to have been a hugely successful 20V Max PowerStack promotion earlier this year, and their Home Depot endcaps seemed to move a lot of tools.
Looking at the photos I took at local Home Depot stores last year, they had so many more promotional displays for Father’s Day, and not just Dewalt. We’ve seen much less of a showing this year from all brands.
Is something unusual going on? Definitely.
Maybe Dewalt is being affected or are responding differently.
But I haven’t seen anything to even remotely suggest that Dewalt is leaving Home Depot, or that Home Depot is dropping Dewalt.
The two companies are very strong partners, and with numerous retail exclusivity arrangements, such as Dewalt 20V Max Atomic, 20V Max FlexVolt Advantage, and FlexVolt.
Stanley Black & Decker, Dewalt’s parent company, also has a Stanley FatMax exclusivity arrangement with Home Depot.
Last year, Home Depot stores had promotional displays with Troy-Bilt outdoor power tools. In case you missed it, Troy-Bilt is now a Stanley Black & Decker brand.
Every brand had better in-store promotions last year. Every brand had a mediocre Father’s Day and early summer promotional presence this year, except maybe Ryobi.
Back in 2018, Home Depot contributed around 14% of Stanley Black & Decker’s tools and storage segment revenue. Checking their 2021 numbers, Home Depot contributed around 15% of Stanley Black & Decker’s net sales last year.
If we apply this percentage to Stanley Black & Decker’s tools and storage revenue segment, assuming net sales is close enough to reported revenue, that’s 15% of $12.8 billion, or $1.92 billion. Close to two billion dollars!
Home Depot had $151 billion in net sales in 2021.
Can Home Depot stand to lose close to $2 billion in Stanley Black & Decker sales? Perhaps, but dropping Dewalt would do much more damage than that. Which brands could step up to replace Dewalt’s presence?
Lowe’s contribution towards Stanley Black & Decker’s bottom line was smaller in 2021 than in previous years – 15% compared to 17%.
Dewalt seems to have a far smaller partnership with Lowe’s than they do with Home Depot. Although there are some exclusive Dewalt products at Lowe’s, Lowe’s also carries Stanley Black & Decker’s Craftsman, Irwin, and Lenox brands.
Back in 2017, Lowe’s contributed 11.7% of Stanley Black & Decker’s net sales, and no other customer exceeded 10% in 2017, 2016, or 2015.
In other words, Home Depot drives a higher percentage of sales for Dewalt and Stanley Black & Decker than in previous years.
But Stanley Black & Decker and Dewalt are also strong partners with Lowe’s. Lowe’s might benefit greatly from Home Depot dropping Dewalt, and although Stanley Black & Decker might suffer, I would think Home Depot has more to lose.
So why would Dewalt or Home Depot put the kibosh on a good thing?
Here’s the little we know: Dewalt occupies less promotional floor space at (some) Home Depot stores right now, and there is no racetrack-facing endcap display at the moment. Is this the same at many stores? Most? All?
What’s more likely, that a smaller promotional display presence is an indication Home Depot is dropping Dewalt (or Dewalt is leaving Home Depot), or that this indicates a responsive measure – strategic or unavoidable – resulting from different factors?
Maybe Dewalt competitors came to more lucrative arrangements with Home Depot. Or maybe Dewalt (and possibly Home Depot) ran some numbers and thought it would be better for Dewalt to save inventory and promotional efforts for the upcoming holiday shopping season.
The idea that Home Depot is dropping Dewalt is pure speculation, as is my idea that Dewalt could be enduring shortages or hoarding inventory for the upcoming holiday shopping season.
The fact of the matter is that only executives at both companies know the full details, and we’re never going to be privy to their private arrangements.
What do you think is going on here? Is this a temporary measure (strategic or involuntary), or the start of a permanent separation?
Home Depot describes itself as the world’s largest home improvement retailer, and Stanley Black & Decker describes itself as the world’s largest tool company.
Everything I understand about the tool industry very strongly suggests that, without any convincing evidence, the world’s largest home improvement retailer and world’s largest tool company are not parting ways anytime soon.
And if they were parting ways, there would be much greater indication of such, than simply the absence of promotional endcap or seasonal wall shelf space in these conspicuously anomalous times.
Remember, this is all speculation as well. Barring any surprise announcements or indicators, Home Depot’s holiday season “gift center” and promotional displays will be a good measure of the strength of their tool brand partnerships.
Steve
What the what? I agree. No way.
Anyway, TTi always better promos at Father’s Day (Q2) and SBD/Dewalt always does better Holiday Season (Q4) promos at Home Depot. The other two quarters are pretty much a toss up. I was thinking this a few weeks ago ‘wow TTi did way more Q2 promos again this year’ but I don’t think Dewalt and HD are breaking it off. They would lose so many of their pro customers. Dewalt is one of the big 2 in the pro market (them and Milwaukee) and has the strongest name recognition behind Craftsman in all of tools. No way HD doesn’t want them in their stores.
dstblj52
That’s probably true the best q2 DeWalt promo was probably acme doing the standard by more save more promo
Stacey
Yeah it’s probably gone. It’s just another made in china brand anyway, so why not? The tool aisle is glutted with too many brands. I think Milwaukee is the better pro brand, you got Makita for woodworkers, and Ryobi rules DIY homeowners…
Mike (the other one)
DeWalt has several power tools that are made in USA with global components (chips, switches). More than any other brand, I believe. ALL Milwaukee power tools are made outside of the US. They do have some blades that are made here, but so does DeWalt/Lenox/Irwin.
Adam
Some of the Sawzall models were assembled in the US, last I checked.
Frank Rex
DeWalt only does low value assembly of tools in USA. The parts for the tools are made over seas and put together in usa, no manufacturing involved. Stanley is probably the most disingenuous company when it come to ad claims, just look about the BS about 20 volt tools, they are 18 volts just like every else. Stanley has outsourced more tools and brands than anyone else while wrapping themselves with an American flag.
Stephen Williams
I’m a pro and my go-to cordless are Makita, made in Japan models.
Stacey Jones
Yeah, made in Japan is usually the best quality nowadays. Germany and some other European stuff is close to this quality too.
Aaron SD
I’d be surprised if this is true. HD would want another premium brand to compete against Milwaukee. I don’t think Makita is going to be pushed instead of Dewalt based on minimal marketing there though I have seen some Makita commercials.
Anything can happen…. But then where would Dewalt go??
Kevin
I sincerely doubt it but I can see why SBD might entertain the idea. Power tools at Home Depot are zero overhead inventory, meaning tool companies basically have to consign all the inventory and only get paid once the tools sell, minus HD’s percentage. It’s burdensome for the tool manufacturers but big box stores are responsible for a huge majority of these sales. The reason I doubt they would pull out is just because no one can compete with Home Depot at this point in time. The retailer with the next best sales performance is Lowes, and Home Depot blows them out of the water. HD just runs laps around the competition.
Kevin
Just to put it in perspective, Home Depot’s market cap is more than double Lowes’. If you make tools and you’re confident you can make the sales and support the inventory, you need to be in that store.
Stacey Jones
That’s a great point. If the sales are weak at HD and they can make a deal with say Lowes, Tractor Supply, and/or Amazon that gives them a lower cut of the sale and other favorable terms… Tools are so similar nowadays, they may just want to promote “battery compatibilty hell” by selling you more brands, forcing you to buy more stuff for this reason and the “combo kits” too. I see a ton of new stuff on eBay for sale where people bought a drill/driver when they only really wanted one or the included batteries.
Kevin
Yeah DeWalt is unique in that not only are they in the top 2 retailers, but they developed exclusive products for each store (HD get “Flexvolt Advantage”, Lowes gets “Power Detect”). Two different branded products that are, for all intents and purposes, effectively the same thing. So it seems like they’d be interested in staying in both stores. Things do change though I suppose. I doubt they’re committed to developing those product lines further. I always thought of them like a one and done kind of product offering. I like to think of them as Flexvolt jr. If there’s a shred of truth of them moving out of HD, I’d be willing to wager it was incentivized by a competitor; Lowes trying to gain exclusivity to be more competitive, but I still doubt it.
And you’re right about trying to get you hooked on their platform. They price the kits at such a good value to get you as invested as possible into their platform. The profit margins on the tools is actually very small. They just don’t make a lot of money when you buy a bare tool. The batteries on the other hand have tremendous markup. They what to get the tools in your hand for a lower cost because the know you’ll need the batteries to power them, and that’s where a bill of their profit is generated.
Stacey Jones
And when SBD sells you all the yellow tools you can use, may as well start pushing another brand/color. Craftsman, Porter Cable, etc. anyone?
Tom Eibs
I was at Home Depot today looking at miter saws. A HD employee approached me warned me to avoid DeWalt due to quality issues. My HD has very few d
DeWalt products
TMQ
Lowes isn’t that far behind Home Depot in terms of Stanley Black and Decker sales. Home Depot is also having bigger issues with theft, I’m not sure who gets burned when someone steals a DeWalt drill but I suspect it not Home Depot.
Jacob2874
Home Depot’s did $151 billion in sales last year compared to Lowes at just a tiny $14 billion. That’s 11 times higher than Lowes. In terms of market capitalization, Home Depot is at $325 billion compared to Lowes at $14 billion, that’s 23 times higher than Lowes.
Lowes is far far behind Home Depot, it’s not even close.
Kentucky fan
Could be as simple as supply chain issues creating less inventory for them to do promos on.
Matt the Hoople
Being in Supply Chain and seeing what is happening with the electrical components we use, I wouldn’t be surprised if this is a major driver of what we are seeing. Power tools are full of electronics and that’s one of the the most difficult categories of material to get these days. There’s many reasons for this that I’m don’t have the fortitude to get into while typing in my phone.
Stuart
Yup. Or enough supply or pricing issues that they’re saving inventory for when it will be more impactful.
Which is going to be harder felt, empty/absent endcap shelves now, or around Black Friday?
Gerald
If you are basically selling everything you can produce currently there is not a great motivation to run sells.
I deal with several suppliers who are discontinuing product sku’s because the constraints on production are hurting the quick selling tools. Production cant keep up with limited staffing, so they concentrate on what sells the most. It will change as things normalize.
I doubt Dewalt will get dropped
Flotsam
i think you’re point hits the nail on the head (if you pardon the awful tool metaphor). If you sell out anyway why have a sale?
I have seen a number of shortages at my local HD & Lowes. I don’t think construction starts are up because of high rates currently. Its still a lot of supply chain issues and maybe even down to component levels.
Mike
The reason I don’t believe this is that my home depot is packed stock with Milwaukee. Everywhere they reduced dewalt, they increases Milwaukee. Ryobi is increased as well. The only tool brand at my home depot that appears to have a different inventory is dewalt. I’ve noticed no dewalt sales all year. My home depot (north jersey) didn’t even have the typical drill bit promos out for display for any holiday. I have zero clue what’s going on, but I don’t believe it’s just supply chain. I am wondering if it has to do with the powerstack batteries (focus on improvement, new line, etc). This fall should be interesting.
Stacey Jones
Agreed. I’m seeing the same at my HD. This is more likely simply due to declining sales, and the recent recalls may have contributed too.
Bill Sung
The Way that I see it, the Pandemic has caught up to Dewalt. Their users are contractors and other industry professionals and they are switching to other brands that are budget friendly and the the industry has slowed down over the last couple of years, leaving them with little to invest in R&D. The lack of innovation has caused their users to cut back on purchase and question their loyalty. We don’t need another battery platform, we need better, lighter cordless tools that can get into smaller places and not compromise on quality or performance. All the above stated and poor strategic decisions are causing me to to consider other brands that continue to innovate with tools such as the Pack-out platform from Milwaukee or other brands that make tools more accessible such as Ryobi. To add insult to injury, the Dewalt tools being recalled with defective components being built in Mexico production plant.
Stuart
That’s always a possibility, but I haven’t seen any Dewalt users jumping ship for other brands.
Bill Sung
It is because the Dewalt Clan are tied into the battery ecosystem, kinda like family . . . til death do us apart.
Stacey Jones
Interesting you say that. I just had my old wood deck replaced with composite. The crew showed up and I don’t recall seeing any yellow tools. Red mostly.
Bill Sung
Sadly true Stacey, I did not see any Dewalt Yellow when we outsourced the paver patio & gazebo a few years back. We saw Bosch Blue all over the back yard . . . I was amazed how amply supplied they were with Bosch Blue. Even the Plumber who unclogged our main drain used Bosch & not Dewalt. Wake Up Dewalt. I honestly feel that they (Dewalt) fell asleep at the wheel and their competitors have surpassed them by miles of innovation and better technology. I honestly don’t think that Anyone will catch up to MILWAUKEE and their Pack Out Tool cases. I am so Upset at Dewalt . . .
Jared
I’m not so sure Bill. Bosch surpassing Dewalt?! That seems like a stretch! Bosch is extremely slow to release tools in North America – if they bother to bring them here at all.
Their battery tech… Well, they have high capacity batteries now, which is a good thing – but they are likely to come upon the ceiling Milwaukee is already touching with the highest draw tools. Where’s the Bosch OPE?
I’ve got lots of Bosch cordless tools. I think they’re good stuff generally. But if the suggestion is that they have surpassed Dewalt… I’m going to need some examples. 😄
…except for Packout. I agree, Packout is better than Toughsystem (even though I am a Toughsystem user). But it isn’t like anyone BUT Milwaukee is ahead of Dewalt in that category – certainly not Bosch.
Whether you think Milwaukee or Dewalt is #1 – in my opinion it’s either one or the other at the moment. I think Milwaukee has a better selection of cordless mechanics tools, but Dewalt has the edge on battery tech with Flexvolt and the new pouch cell battery.
Bill Sung
Is it just me? I have not bought any new Dewalt Tools (updated, upgraded or anything new) since the Pandemic? I am a weekend Wood working warrior, but since then . . . I have been wrenching under the hood with Auto related upgrades on my Truck. I have a full Dewalt Wood Work shop . . . I am just pure sour grapes on the Tough System 2.0 and that Radio , the 2.0 tough system that was discontinued & the Courdless double bevel sliding saw that has been recalled. Wishing that we (the Dewalt Clan) had a packout system with a opening tray to roll out to the truck to for the weekend tool time. (Wake Up Dewalt)…. There is a novel idea, a Tool Tray that unfolds on casters so it can easy be packed away after usage . Is there anything out on the market like that?
Scotty.
We are in the beginning stages of what many believe will be a historic economic upheaval. We could begin to see many out of ordinary actions taking place as manufacturers and retailers position themselves to weather a difficult economic environment.
Scott F
WIIFSBD? What’s in it for SBD? There is zero, ZERO logical reason behind them pulling out of HD. They have no horse in the race of customers shopping between home centers – they just want to sell more of their products to whoever will buy them. Why would they drop the biggest home retailer in America….
And conversely, WIIFHD? Another brand with smaller user base, less tools, and less ubiquity? No way….
These are huge corporations whose goal is to take the last dollar they can get out of every customer – removing the brand is not a winning move for either side.
On the idea of sales/specials – we’re HD specials drastically underperforming the other retailers – physical and/or online? I don’t pay much mind to DeWalt because I’m team red, but the sales seemed pretty lackluster across the board…
Mike (the other one)
DeWalt isn’t going anywhere. More than likely, they have scaled beck production due to the pandemic and supply chain issues.
SBD recently purchased MTD, so there may be a whole new line of tools coming on the OPE side.
fred
When I read the SBD 1st Quarter 2022 press release. I recall a cautionary bit about the impact of commodity inflation and supply chain issues on gross margins. That was not at all surprising. But their prediction that year over year gross margins would remain in the mid 20% range for the entire year was. I would have expected that there might have been more cautionary advice given – considering the expected downturn in the housing market and impact of expected Fed continuing interest-rate action on the remodeling business. Anyway, I don’t recall any hints about any changes on the horizon regarding Dewalt (not that telegraphing such news would be likely in a press release) – but there was mention about how the integration of MTD and Excel were contributing to their ongoing success.
Meanwhile, IMO unless HD is finding that devoting floor-space to Dewalt has become unprofitable – I can’t see much change on the horizon.
Stuart
That’s the thing – their relationship seems to be hugely profitable and beneficial to both businesses. I can’t imagine any reasonable cause for separation; there’s nothing to support this.
Aaron SD
Could it be seasonable? Maybe they just sold more earlier so there is less inventory. I can’t imagine a company holding onto regular product to sell later during a sale.
Low inventory does save Dewalt money since they only get paid when something is sold, so could be keeping minimum stock.
fred
I agree. Generally, a business tries to keep inventories of finished products to a minimum – shipping as much as it can, when it can to the point of sale. Keeping some inventory on hand to accommodate special needs or customers might be a thing – but massive hold backs speculating on some future sales seems illogical. That said, the events of the last 2 years have certainly challenged many assumptions. When supply chains were robust, we did as much cross-docking and just-in-time ordering of raw materials as we thought prudent to meet our client production schedules. I’m no longer involved – but suspect that business is now ordering more raw materials in advance to have long lead-time items in the shop so as not to idle production. So maybe Stuart’s idea that SBD might be holding on to inventory (writing the costs off to marketing) to allow for BF sales – comports with pandemic-reality.
Bob
According to a long time SBD rep I ran into at a Home Depot a few years ago he said floor space for tool manufacturers can vary regionally. Not sure if that is still the case. Around me TTI (Milwaukee and Ryobi) take up half the tool area. DeWalt is 1/4. Makita and Rigid are about 1/8 each.
I will say that I regularly see Milwaukee and Ryobi reps in my Home Depot hustling after sales. Especially around the holidays they have guys and gals helping out making sure stuff is in stock, answering customer questions, setting up point of sale displays, drumming up business etc. They had a big parking lot display for Ryobi this weekend.
I’ve only ever seen that one SBD guy. And he said he was retiring soon.
All that being said I don’t think Dewalt is going anywhere. I would agree with the supply chain issues and inflation being the main culprits.
Franck B.
It must be regional. Nearly every month we have several DeWalt pickups parked outside of HDs with a legion of handsome/pretty young reps in the stores (most don’t know much about tools though).
PW
This editorial caught me by surprise. I’m in the DeWalt 20V ecosystem, and I didn’t notice any subjective drop off in promo space in the 3 HDs near me this year. In fact, DeWalt was the only non-house brand that seemed to have a big presence! I mostly noticed Husky, Rigid, and Ryobi promotions on the floor, and bunch of DeWalt stuff.
It might have just been that I notice the yellow more because it’s of personal interest, but I didn’t feel it was missing.
I would think HD would be, frankly, stupid to drop DeWalt entirely. That would leave them far too beholden to a single company (TTI) for the vast majority of their sales and floor space for power tools. If I were HD I’d want to maintains some kind of SBD presence as, if nothing else, a negotiating hedge with TTI. And Craftsman and PC are downmarket and seemingly not available as bargaining chips for HD.
Sal Colon
I have noticed prices have gone up, across the board at Home Depot. Maybe because of the high theft in the cities, they are now passing the cost to consumers.
fred
Theft might be a problem for them country-wide – and they (like other merchants) certainly account for “inventory shrinkage” in their pricing.
I stopped into a HD across the highway from my Hampton Inn in New Hampshire and noted that some items (not just knives and spray paint) were locked up in cages.
When I inquired, I was told that it was because otherwise lots of stuff would just walk out. This location was by no means in a big city.
Looking at prices in the grocery store will also tell you that it’s not just Home Depot that has been forced to raise prices.
MM
I think Fred is right. My nearest HD is in a pretty small town and I know for a fact they have theft issues with power tools. I can think of four specific occasions where I went to that HD intending to buy a tool and when I get there the staff finds that all of them have mysteriously disappeared even though they saw them earlier in the day and the website indicated they should have stock as well. They also seem more strict about having the employees walk the tools up to the register when you want to purchase one. It has gotten to where I now call in advance to have someone manually verify stock even if the website says they have plenty. This has affected both Dewalt and Milwaukee tools. Mainly smaller ones which I presume are easier to hide.
Jared
Anecdotal, but my local store recently put all the higher-priced power tools behind wire cages. It used to be open stock on shelves below the display tools.
Now all Milwaukee Fuel and Dewalt Flexvolt are locked up, though you can still access the regular tools without help. It’s annoying, but so are higher prices due to shrinkage.
Franck B.
I live (will be lived) in a suburban area with a lot of HDs and nearly all of the metro area is reportedly relatively affluent, despite huge numbers of homeless in the urbs (three of them). In any case, since theft is basically not a crime here, or one that gets prosecuted, the items with high-value + resellability to concealability ratio are the things that get locked up.
So now if one of the crew needs a replacement or specialty table saw blade on short notice… I have to wait 15-30 minutes to find an associate that knows the code to open the under-display cage to get me a blade.
This is not intended to be a political statement. I just think it might move everyone along better if we had more places to buy the brands we want and not fewer.
Robert
For sure. With dwindling police numbers, there is slower or no response to property theft. Consequently a lot more retailers are going to “no confront” policies with shoplifters. Who get more emboldened as a result. The retailers try to compensate by adding security infrastructure and changing layout, but it’s not keeping up with thefts, so prices go up to make up. Easier to do with supply chain woes and inflation as an excuse. I talked to a buddy of mine in retail security and he confirmed my suspicions. Lots of businesses are adding a shoplifting mark up. Even grocery stores, so the whole thing hurts the poor the most.
Bill Hall
I heard it mentioned on a youtube tool channel that Dewalt was the lowest selling tool brand in Home Depot. That was few months ago, about the same time Home Depot was pulling all the Dewalt end caps.
So, a business is going to push the more popular tools to increase profits. As Dewalt sales fall they will continue to get pushed to the back.
Stuart
What was their source?
Because, if you look at the numbers, Stanley Black Decker and Dewalt drive far more sales at Home Depot than Makita.
It’s not clear how Milwaukee, Ridgid (most power tools), and Ryobi sales figures are divided, since they report together under TTI.
Franck B.
The disparity could be that Home Depot gets the least revenue from Dewalt sales, but spends the most to SBD for the tools.
i.e., they’re all stolen or not suitable for RTV.
Stephen Williams
At the Home depots here in Tulsa all the DeWalt tools on display are secured with a metal chain and padlock. None of the manufacturers tool are secured like this.
DeWalt is the favorite tool of Oklahomans.
Rog
If there any major tool brand in risk of getting dropped at HD it’s Makita. Their main and seasonal displays are always so small and unkempt
Fyrfytr998
No matter what happens. Lowes will still be in a state of confusion. When I walk into a HD, you can tell TTI runs the show.
When I walk into Lowes, It’s a coin flip between Chervon and SBD depending on the sales.
Brian M
Remember earlier in the year the Dewalt hyperlink disappeared from Home Depot’s site. You could still find Dewalt tools but the graphic was gone.
Mateo
I haven’t noticed anything pointing to Dewalt not being in HD anymore. I was there too close to daily the week of Father’s Day and Milwaukee clearly had the most floor space for promos but Dewalt was a close second followed by Ryobi then Makita.
Fyrfytr998
I wonder if HD losing E-Go had anything to do with Lowes EVP of Merchandising being the former CEO of Chervon??
Which also explains the push for Flex to become successful.
Jay Dee
If the big box tool retail business is anything like the big box book retail business, companies pay to be predominately displayed on the end caps of shelves/aisles.
Phil
I don’t see much difference in quality from dewalt and Milwaukee. If anything Milwaukee was far ahead in mechanic tools and 12v … but not anymore . Dewalt far ahead in 60v performance vs high output Milwaukee. Both are stuck when talking pure auto mechanic tools. We can see a difference in impact guns for pure auto mechanic to all other types of mechanics. Dewalt I think was slow to create impacts as they also have mac tool guns. As a millwright I would prefer dewalt or Milwaukee gun and as a auto mechanic the guns should have different preferences on the gun set up. Another factor is Milwaukee moves so fast with new generations of the same tool. This can be good but also anger people who may feel it’s hard to keep upgrading so quickly. From dewalt we see longer generation life… but they are speeding up in the mechanic area.. example is the high torque impact gun… it’s had such a long first gen and it continues to keep working great… but it really needs a new gen. I suspect 60v gun may be on horizon in 3/4 drive and maybe even 1 inch to complement its new great low and midrange guns. Also if power stack keep progressing its a great set up for mechanical work.
fred
“Milwaukee moves so fast with new generations of the same tool. This can be good but also anger people who may feel it’s hard to keep upgrading so quickly. ”
What you say is so true. I always get a chuckle about folks who will suffer real angst over not having the “latest” tool – even if what they have is still very productive. In our business – we might not have always waited until a tool gave up the ghost – but we did not change out a fleet of tools every time a new model arrived on the shelves. We’d try new tools often. If something new offered an improvement in productivity, safety or some other factor then we would phase them into our mix. The speed of that phase-in would be based on our perceived value of the improvements we observed in the new tool’s use.
Phil
Good point on vetting a new gen tool and it’s cost effective value. Not all users have the insight like we do when at Hone depo etc. We rely on tool guyd so we are not confused. Often we let our peers know what is new and what is and older gen. People can find themselves buying and old gen of same tool rather new gen even at a lower on sale price. We also see so many duplicates. I like how dewalt did optional micro chip rather than one- key. Plus then you have hogring detent pin and anvil size. .. must drive store nuts for stocking or shelf space
Dr. G
I recently decided to get back into an 18/20V platform. I’d lived overseas in the Army for years and bought 12V DeWalt because that was what was available in the base stores. I did some research on platforms. I really like Milwaukee, Dewalt, and Makita. Would have gone with Makita, but they can be hard to find in retail environments. Ultimately, I went with DeWalt because it is “everywhere.” I grew up in rural Oregon and may want to move there; I like that DeWalt is at both big box stores and they continue to work with the independent dealers. Of the big three cordless brands, this is the reason I went with them. Frankly, I don’t have much preference among the big three. I don’t want to invest in a platform that requires me internet buy or drive over 50 miles to a big box store just to pick up a tool/battery. I think both SBD and HD get this. It makes zero business sense to pull DeWalt from the largest home center in the US.
bob urz
remember a while back when the rumor was Rigid was gone? well, there in a end cap in some stores now. Promotions come, promotions go. They just rebrand the endcap when another promotion has run its course. Ryobi days is not going to run forever. And thats taking up a lot of HD floor space now. Its probably smart marketing on there part to rotate promotional space and give different brands some love on the floor for awhile.
On the flip side of SBD, lowes seems to have been taking up a lot of premium space with craftsman for awhile. Do you think that is going to last forever? Maybe we will see more flex action there. I dont think Flex has taken over the
world like some expected. like being a republican or democrat, some long term
loyalties are hard to break. that works with tools too.
Phil
Yup its probably my number one rule for staying with dewalt and Milwaukee. A dedication to easy access . Reliability and commitment to new tools are beneficial too. Innovation also.
Jared
I’m surprised this is a genuine concern. I never would have thought arguably the biggest power tool brand would pull out of the biggest power tool retailer. I don’t think it’s going to happen.
That’s not based on any information though, just the feeling that it seems like a big misstep for both if true.
Stuart
You would be surprise how many things I have to debunk privately, and then publicly once I hear the same concerns frequently enough.
For example:
https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/does-harbor-freight-own-snap-on-tools/%3C/a%3E%3Cbr /> https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/dewalt-milwaukee-tool-not-the-same-company/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Jared
Ha. Forgot about that one!
Roger
DeWalt came out with a BANG early this year Q1 to promo the PStack. That was hot on the trails off their Q4 offers. It’s not surprising a cooldown for promotions to follow. However, the “drywalling” themed promo Q2 isn’t too bad. I’m curious what they’re going to offer after the annual “BuyMoreSaveMore” Q3 period.
In recent years, DeWalt has been all over the place. Especially with branched “candle in the wind” eco-systems like FlexVoltAdvantage and PowerDetect. They need to get it together. It feels too much like cellphones.
JGonzo
Former HD employee here (merchandising) – not only are the end caps constantly rotated (going to the vendor who was willing to pay HD the most for the space), but (at least for the region in which I worked), DeWalt was not a particularly frequent endcap. Given that DeWalt wasn’t an exclusive brand to Home Depot, my guess is that upper management focused a lot more on TTI for the high-dollar locations in the store.
That being said, we moved a TON of DeWalt product, even without major promotions. Zero chance that Home Depot drops the brand. I suppose it’s possible that SBD negotiates an exclusive deal with Lowes, but given the vastly more extensive presence of Home Depot, that would be brand suicide…
Oleg K
They’re more likely to drop Ryobi. With so much competition around this move would be suicidal for both of them.
I mean, maybe someone at the Home Depot or Dewalt thinks that an exclusive Lowes partnership would be enough to sell their tools but that would be a massive miscalculation on their part. The reason I go to Home Depot is because they have the best brands, including Dewalt, if they stop selling Dewalt at the Home Depot I will stop buying Dewalt because Home Depot stores have more/better stuff and are thus more comfortable for shopping. Their paint(s) is/are better, they have more sanding accessories, better promotions and their prices are a bit lower.
Ego or whatever must have not been a big brand, didn’t make enough money to justify giving it space on the shelves. Dewalt, however, is probably one of the best-selling brands, the vast majority of professionals I know use either Dewalt or Milwaukee.
I think that such a move would hurt both of the brands and cause irreparable, permanent damage, financially and otherwise. So let’s all hope that this is just a rumor that was started to gain publicity and nothing more!
Mark S
I think I’m ONE of the site readers that brought this up to Stuart. I myself think its nonsense. Like others said, it would be brand suicide.
BUT, just in the past few weeks I’ve noticed some more little hints about this maybe being possible: the tool department in my local orange box has turned RED. A lot more of it than ever before. Milwaukee now has 3 whole bays just for a random mix of everything, including but not limited to M12, M18, jackhammers, concrete saws and much more. The packout section doubled. The M18 and bits section got longer. Signage updated. I know all of that can happen to any brand and it constantly evolves, but the Dewalt selection got smaller. I think the 20V section shrank. Bits and tips section looks limited. ALL of the ToughSystem stuff was on clearance back in May. Just today Dewalt lights are on clearance (not a one left in that planogram anymore). I know those are all small clues, but it could be true….will have to watch and see what the holidays bring. Historically Father’s Day and Memorial Day is for Ryobi…and now we are into summer storage bins…so yellow displays are few and far between. Curious to see how this pans out. Maybe they do go direct and exclusive to Lowe’s or Tractor Supply or even Ace or True Value maybe….?
Big Richard
I think someone else mentioned this above, but if you go to the tools section of HD’s Special Values page, you will notice DeWalt is no longer listed under the “Exclusive Top-Brand Savings” heading, but rather “Powerful Savings on Other Top Tool Brands” along with the likes of Makita.
https://www.homedepot.com/b/Tools/Special-Values/N-5yc1vZc1xyZ7?NCNI-5
So it is possible whatever deal SBD had with HD for exclusive pricing has already ended. It doesn’t mean they would drop DeWalt entirely and I don’t think it means there will not be DeWalt sales, rather more likely the same sales will be available at other retailers as well, just not HD exclusively. Though deals will probably be less frequent. But as the article points out this is all speculation.
Jack Smith
I am a small independent contractor and I almost exclusively shop Home Depot and for my battery tools I am on the DeWalt platform, although my boxes are Milwaukee Packout.
If Home Depot gets rid of DeWalt that will be a real problem and I can assure you I’m not switching brands because of it. HD will lose some sales.
I did also recently get a DeWalt 12 inch double bevel sliding compound miter saw from Home Depot and it was a Home Depot exclusive deal for $399.00. which by the way is a fantastic saw for the price. It has no light and comes with a crap blade, but it’s still a great deal. The one will a good blade and light is usually $650.00.
There is apparently some kind of exclusivity deals between HD and Lowes. I have noticed that Lowes has plenty of DeWalt, but not a single 60v tool. They have the most Power Detect. On the other hand I see Flexvolt at Home Depot and I never seen Power Detect at Home Depot.
It looks like Home Depot and Lowes seem to each have an exclusive deal with Home Depot getting the Flexvolt Advantage and Lowes getting Power Detect. If the two companies each have the other line of tools I haven’t seen it here in Columbus Ohio.
This rumor does concern me and I hope there’s no truth to it. I also only buy the DeWalt driver bits with the cases that hook together and DeWalt is the only company I’ve seen with this feature. My six big Milwaukee Packout boxes are filled with Yellow and Black and that is not going to change.
Franck B.
If this were just about any other blog, the title would have been “Is Home Depot dropping DeWalt tools?”
And a reminder that for any headline that ends with a question mark, the answer is, “No!”
Gerry Wagoner
There has been a significant reduction in the Dewalt inventory at the Piqua Ohio store. Whereas Milwaukee has tripled their exposure there.
Hmm