Makita USA has a new President and CEO, Sean Okada, who will be replacing Terry Nozawa.
This change in leadership comes at what looks to be very hard times for Makita USA.
Makita USA raised prices 3 times between April 2022 and May 2023, laid off 213 people in June, and also closed a US service center.
Advertisement
The recent job cuts were across the board, affecting service technicians, warehouse jobs, design and marketing jobs, sales jobs, territory managers, customer service representatives, retail sales reps, and more.
A reader wrote in, asking for my opinion on this.
Eliot (thank you!) wrote:
I wonder what your thoughts are on Makita USA appointing a new president and CEO, Sean Okada. Seems he comes as a CEO from Makita Australia and formerly was in leadership positions in Makita UK and Makita Dubai.
Hopefully this means more transparency, availability, and innovation.
Makita USA is part of Makita’s North America segment. It is my understanding that Makita USA is responsible for regional sales, marketing, and support, with tool development entirely taking place at Makita’s headquarters in Japan.
Advertisement
Because of this, there’s a limit as to the impact Okada can be expected to have with respect to things like innovation.
No matter how talented a leader Okada might be, there’s no quick “undo” or “reset” button that he can press.
Okada describes the USA as “the most competitive power tool market in the world.”
According to Makita’s public financial statements, Makita North America earns a slight profit most years, and they reported a loss in 2 of the past 5 years. Makita’s North America segment represents a roughly 15% share of their global revenue, but contributes significantly lower reported earnings.
Makita USA has proved that tools don’t automagically sell themselves.
As President and CEO of Makita USA, Okada will be tasked with steering their local marketing, sales, and support efforts – once he stops the ship from sinking.
It is my opinion that Okada will also have to convince Makita’s corporate leadership to invest more heavily in the USA market than they can expect to get out in the short term.
An industry insider recently opined to me that Makita USA is “a dead brand.” While I would agree that Makita USA bungled their marketing in recent years, I don’t think their situation is hopeless. Good leadership could certainly turn things round.
Okada has his work cut out for him.
Tim
Great. Time for 17 new battery systems.
Joe A
XGT Batteries and Chargers not being reverse compatible
Stuart
That’s a terrible engineering decision, but I highly doubt Makita USA can do anything about it. As mentioned, they’re sales and marketing.
If it helps, think of them in the same way as a car dealership. They’ll advertise and sell tools, but can’t do anything about the tools’ designs or engineering.
Bonnie
Nothing to be done about it at this point. Only option going forward is pushing for a clearer brand message.
Jim Premo
Xgt batteries are too heavy for the lxt. LXT battery connection is not up to the task. Xgt battery connection is much more robust on the tool and battery
Stuart
Dewalt had a 20V Max to 18V adapter that couple only be used with the brand’s compact batteries.
Makita could make an adapter for use with just their XGT 2Ah and 2.5Ah batteries. That’s certainly be better than nothing.
Makita USA’s top launch point centered on how the XGT battery had an 18V form factor and could still be used with an impact driver.
Jim Premo
XGT batteries are too big and heavy to make them cross compatable.
LXT tool’s battery connection at the tool and at the battery were designed to support much smaller batteries than XGT tools.
Stuart
Makita 18V LXT batteries are the size and weight of XGT 2Ah and 2.5Ah batteries.
OldDominionDIYer
Good move it was getting “Bosch” bad. Bosch, now there’s a company whose existence in the USA is seriously in doubt.
Ramsey
I’m very surprised that Bosch hasn’t off loaded the rest of the tool division to Chervon… just a matter of time.
Mopar4wd
My local Lowes has slowly decreased Bosch shelf space and now seem to have no 12 volt in stores at all (except for a couple drills in clearance) The 18V stuff is now down to one end cap from a whole aisle 2 years ago. Lowes seems to be making more room for Dewalt and Flex, while Metabo, Craftsman, Kobalt and skil seem to be keeping the same space for years now.
Michael F
This is good news. As a big Makita fan it’s obvious their prices aren’t competitive right now. They don’t have a product problem, they have a marketing and sales problem. Makita proper likely can’t expect the kind of margins they see internationally from the US market. At a glance, the XGT drill/impact kit is only around $150 less than the Festool TID/TPC kit. That pricing model is a serious problem.
TomD
I feel they have no hope at the bargain low end pricing segment of the market, they need to increase quality and features until they’re competitive with premium tools like the festool line.
If they can’t, they die in the USA, or at least become a dumping ground for excess inventory.
Alex
As far as quality goes, Makita is one of the better made tools. Take for instance that their tools often utilize glass reinforced polycarbonate rather than glass reinforced nylon. Both are very durable, but polycarbonate is stronger. In addition, I’ve been very satisfied with the performance of Makita’s 5 amp battery packs.
Whereas I’ve been very dissatisfied with my Milwaukee’s as they barely hold a charge anymore (5 & 9 amp battery packs). The main issue is Milwaukee’s charger does not identify and charge, individual depleted cells (some cells discharge at different rate than others) rather it’s control board.
Further, with the Milwaukee’s Fuel grinder, I’ve divested many of my Milwaukee Fuel tools for Makita because more often than not, they make a better tool
Stuart
Makita has their own battery problems. Some of the 18V batteries self-drain, and I’ve had an XGT tool drain batteries in 2 weeks of disuse, from fully charged to over-drained with zero lights.
All brands have their quality ups and downs.
Talking about quality is moot; Makita USA has nothing to do with this one way or another. Quality – for the most part – isn’t what they need to fix.
fred
When I bought my first Makita LXT tool, for personal use, it was 2008. I did so based on what we were buying for the GC/remodeling business – where the carpenters like Makita and the number of tools that they had on offer. At that time the Makita lineup seemed greater in breadth than either Dewalt or Milwaukee. But since then, they just seemed to fall more and more behind. In our plumbing business – we soon were moving to Milwaukee because of their trade-specific offerings. Cross-pollination sort of set in – and I hear that the GC/remodeling guys are now too mostly on Milwaukee. From my perspective higher price was not the reason for the switch – rather it was the more varied lineup and new tool introductions from Milwaukee that was the cause. As you say – the tool buyer can stomach high price (I’ve bought Lamello, Fein, Festool and Mafell) if there is a quality or innovation incentive.
Mopar4wd
I think even if your not at the low end of the market to compete at the volume of the big guys you need to at least have competitive sales. I mean you need the initial kit pricing to get people in the door., followed by a steady stream of innovations to keep people buying.
You can be a high end tool and not do the price marketing but you will never have a big volume doing that. You end up with a market share like Festool, Hilti, Fein etc. which is likely great for margin but you have to except the lower volume.
Christopher Sapp
I want a cordless/battery operated tubing cutter!!!!!
SamR
The problem is coming from the HQ in Japan. Makita is like Toyota, living on a good reputation, old tech, and having good build standards. They want to avoid going head-to-head with other brands. They want fixed profit margins with less overhead costs—my two cents.
Michael F
I agree with this overall. I already mentioned that Makita HQ expects profit margins that I don’t think are realistic in the US market. Their current pricing model is not competitive in any way.
Patrick Johnson
The problem with Makita,in my opinion is the deal with Home Depot which has given them a small retail footprint in a store already dominated by Milwaukee and DeWalt. My local HDs don’t have very many Makita SKUs or shelf space. Add that to Home Depot’s pressure on margin and this is what you get, volume on a few items with less than appealing profits.
Allan
I was in the market for a new saw. All my 18v stuff had been stolen along with my x2 saw and sawzall.. anyways. I had been debating in another x2 or xtg. 40v won and Home Depot’s promo was giving away a free battery with the purchase of one. It took me 3 different stores to finally get what wanted. 2 stores could not find the batteries although their stock said they had them. The 3rd store I went to, that was In the area my job was in, had no 40v display up but the website claimed they had them in stock so I asked an employee that worked in the tool department about the 40v and where they all were. He stated to me that “Makita does not make a 40v”. My jaw dropped. I immediately asked for a manager, I showed him the stock on the website and upon asking some questions to other employees, we found the tools…. packed up on a pallet 3 aisles away from the tools, up on the top shelf. I found a battery across the store, on some racks against the front if the store where the seasonal stuff ends up. It was accompanied by a couple random Makita tools. Anyways. i got my saw and am stoked at it’s performance which is exactly the opposite of how I feel about HD and their employees lack of knowledge. I also feel that that store disrespected the hell out of Makita by not even giving a damn to even set up a simple promotional display that every other store has had up for over 2 months.
kevin matra
HD is a total mess when it comes to inventory and someone actually wanting to help you. As far as promo displays makita is supposed to have a rep. There dealing with it, not HDs problem at all. I guess that had to do with the 200+ layoffs that took place. Stick with milwaukee.
Franco Calcagni
I am curious, with all of the hassles and lame HD employees you had to deal with, why go with Makita again when you would have had less problems getting Milwaukee or Dewalt?
MM
I have had very similar problems to what Allan described trying to buy both Dewalt and Milwaukee tools at Home Depot. In fact this has happened to me on four separate occasions. In my opinion there are two aspects to the problem: first is that most HD employees are not knowledgeable, nor do they really care about finding the product you are looking for. Second is that HD treats merchandise for specials/sales differently than their normal stock inventory. That thing Allan mentioned about how these new Makitas were stocked “three isles away from the tools”? I’ve experienced exactly that. Their normal inventory gets put with the tools. But inventory for a sale/special/etc, or a new product? That gets put wherever they have room. If they bothered to put that merchandise in the tool section then even the most braindead employees could likely find them. But as it stands now, if you’re looking for a brand new tool that doesn’t have a proper spot on the main display yet, or it’s some special deal for a holiday, you’ll have to search the entire HD to find it.
Jared
I’ve also had trouble buying in-stock tools at Home Depot. Most recently a palm router with free starter kit. Website said they had >160 starter kits in stock, but it took three employees almost a half-hour to find one (and one is all they found, it was hidden on a shelf in the wrong spot and one employee just stumbled onto it; they never did locate the pallet).
Experiences like that have left me almost unwilling to shop in-store unless its urgent. Even if I’m going to pick it up, I’d rather just order online and pick up curbside. At least that way I know it’s there and I won’t have to hunt when I arrive.
It can’t be great for business though. If I in the store many times I remember other supplies I ‘”need” at the same time, which doesn’t happen ordering online.
Jim Felt
I’m curious. Doesn’t your local market have at least a couple of independent or regional commercial customer vendors? Contractor suppliers? Tool repair/sales outlets? Mine sure as heck do. HD is only a price driven last resort.
Nate
This! 100%. The big box stores should be your last, least preferred option…
Munklepunk
The prices at the supply stores are easily 20% higher and sales never happen, might as well go to ace. The local power tool store had an amazing warranty, as long as you had the receipt labor was free if it was past warranty, parts were not, and they didn’t hack the prices up for parts. They switched that a few years ago and I know a lot of people only go there for warranty service and specialty tools now, where before people would come in and buy everything.
Kenneth Craig lazuka sr
All they really have to do is just make more tools cordless they make great tools just need a bigger variety like Milwaukee I just absolutely hate Milwaukee tool ergonomics garbage Makita tools are really comfortable to use ergonomics are there the batteries are great just need more varieties
Robert
I do wonder what Mr. Okada has done in those other countries that would really help him right good ship USS Makita. But I doubt we would even find that in the financial trade journals.
Ramsey
They bundled the tools correctly and made them usable. I stopped buying Makita because I ended up have to source needed parts from Japan and even bought a 3d printer to make a bag adapter for my track saw because it hadn’t been released yet in the USA. My LXT drywall sander was advertised a wireless capable vacuum start stop but a Bluetooth adapter is not shipped with it in the USA. Makita has left me stranded as a customer, trying to buy their tools and use them. Makita needs to be more like Festool and Milwaukee… marketing companies that happen to own tool divisions.
Eliot Truelove
I feel this, and it’s why I’m optimistic for Makita USA. Bundling BOTH adapters with every available portable Vacuum for compatibility with all tools would be a big change, so that you have what you need for every tool. Another would be to include various guide fences for saws, and create a curated list of relevant accessories for each tool in both the manual and the website, rather than endlessly clicking left and right for what you want at the bottom of the page to try and maybe find the right accessory. Also to update the listings for the accessories to give all the compatible model numbers rather than some of them. It is very ambiguous otherwise. I’ve done alot of research, and I look up alot of this, but most don’t want to do it. That’s where good marketing and customer service go hand in hand.
Stuart
Having spent an inordinate amount of time to determine which dust adapter is compatible with their XGT router, and then ordering the router and separate accessory only to find it was included with the tool, I agree that their website needs some improving. Most tool brands’ websites are lacking when it comes to information about accessory compatibility.
Blocky
I once had a boss (pm/ foreman) describe his role as ‘I’m the guy who gets the equipment (loader/telehandler/etc) unstuck.’
Jim Felt
That was my main role in several businesses I was involved with.
fred
I always thought of my job as: helping motivate others to make me look good and keeping them happy in doing that.
Ramsey
I’m a 49 year old man that grew up in Southern California. I love(d) Makita and I have a large assortment of LXT and LXT 2 tools from the cordless compound miter saw to track saws. I have since switched to Milwaukee and Metabo HPT tools. The Milwaukees are my weekend at home tools… which I’ve broken. But my Metabo HPTs are my daily drivers… used by me and my crews. From heavy duty sds plus roto hammers to jobsite lighting and sanders. Truth be told I feel I get Makita quality for half the price. And someone just told me that they were too young to use Makita… wow, I blew my mind! But it’s true… if your under 50… you don’t buy Makita!
Nate
LOL. I’m 47 and grew up on the West Coast. I think Makita still makes great tools, but they are pricing themselves out. Their corded line has some incredible gems. I have a 20 year old corded drill that is fantastic for metal work. Their sanders are bulletproof. Their track saw is exceptional. In general, Makita’s carpentry line is just fantastic. The “too young” folks who never tried their corded tools are really missing out.
That said, I’ve gone the Metabo HPT route as well. They are good value and they offer similar build at a lower price. The Multivolt solution is exceptional. I don’t like spending a ton on cordless tools, as I view cordless tools as “expendable.” If they don’t die from use, the lack of available batteries or parts will kill them off in a few years.
John
They make great products so if sales aren’t there then there is probably a great opportunity for a sales and marketing update.
Any competition for Milwaukee, Dewalt, Flex ect is good.
Jared
As I read the article I was thinking how there’s been so many new entries to the cordless tool market over the last 5-10 years and how that’s usually a good thing from the consumer’s perspective. More competition generally means more innovation and lower pricing.
However, that same phenomenon is probably also at least partly responsible for the hardship some “legacy” brands like Makita and Bosch are facing. If they sit still to catch their breath they will be left behind. That doesn’t undermine the first point generally, but it might affect particular consumers with existing investments in now struggling brands.
I don’t know what my point is exactly… that’s just what I was thinking as I pondered the “more competition is good” perspective.
Tony
I like makita and there 18v but seems like they have been lacking alot …and more to desired
GT
Makita makes incredible tools. Their internal workings are far superior to the other colors. Their biggest obstacle is their marketing. I hope the new president cleans house in that area and starts fresh. They could learn a thing or two by hiring someone from Milwaukee!
Franco Calcagni
I am in the same boat as many others that left comments here.
I have lots of LXT tools and love them, but my recent purchases have been HPT and Dewalt. The pricing certainly makes a difference. But then it is also, you get what you pay for.
A month ago I bought a 2 pack of 1.7 PS batteries. Then a week later found a deal on the DCF850B super compact impact, $129 CDN…could not pass it up despite having more impacts than I need.
It is short and small, I get a buzz just looking at it. BUT, when putting steel panels on my carport this week, I was using my 15 year old LXT impact, along with a 15 yr old 1.5 battery.
It is better balanced in my hand, maybe lighter, but not sure. The big thing is the trigger, the Dewalt trigger is not a light touch, it can easily overdrive the neoprene washer screws I am using. Yes, I can put it on the 1st or 2nd speed, but I lose torque; hard to achieve the right balance.
I will definitely be using the DCF850B in future, but for this job, I just preferred the feel of the old Makita impact.
All this to say that Makita raises prices, bad marketing and whatever else, but to me, most of their tools are a notch above the 2 market leaders. So, price will make me buy less Makita going forward, but still prefer them.
Frank D
I see a LOT of Makita around me, and have some corded tools from them that I absolutely love. But, in terms of presence in the competitive NA market retail market … they don’t have the shelf presence.
And, when I go to two of the in town family run stores / chains, they have a big Makita display wall; but the sticker price just makes you do a double take. And, that’s not to devalue the brand, or quality, support, repairs, etc.
But, it becomes like my love hate relationship with Bosch. I want some of the compact Bosch 12v tools that they have in EU, I have written letters to Bosch USA. They’re sitting on a large range of expanded tools that people want to buy, and refuse (?) to sell them … for god knows what reason!
So, Makita. I like Makita. I would love to support them more than I have. Just that I got into Ridgid, Bosch and now Ryobi … because well, that is what I got into.
Saulac
So how is Makita AU doing? I Googled “Makita Australia” and the first suggestion was “makita australia redemption”. What (?!). Turn out it was a bunch of free tool offers and also some expired offers. So it seems they have deals often. Then I check out some of the tool categories and was blow away by the all the tools available.
I’ll keep my finger cross that we will get what they are having.
RAMSEY
This guy uses a lot of Makita products… love watching him!! https://youtu.be/rJKJDsuJqqU?si=QnHv_x2mvZq72RUr
Saulac
Oh yeah. I have seen him before. Always interesting to see you people do things differently around the world.
Mopar4wd
I got my son a LXT Makita drill for his birthday last week. He wanted Makita because he loves some of my older makita tools that just don’t die. I bought it at HD and the tool sales guy probably summed up their problems.” Great drill great price (it was on sale) Makita stuff is nice but if your starting out with a cordless line I can’t recommend it, we sell less and less every year almost all our sales are Miluwakee and some Ryobi. We still some Dewalt but nothing compared to miluwakee. “
Albert
20 years ago I thought Milwaukee was a dead brand, living off past glory with their corded Hole Hawg and Sawzall. Now look at them! I’m sure Makita can recover.
Saulac
Yes on the corded Hole Hawg and Sawzall but it could be even more recent than 20 years. This bring up the question of when/what was the turn around point for Milwaukee? I understand ITT bought it in early 2000 (?) but was that before or after the turn around? Was there anyone deserve the credit for the turn around?
Bremon
TTI bought them in 2005 and heavily invested in them. M12, M18, “RedLithium”, “Fuel”, etc. all happened under TTI after V18, etc. almost killed the brand. Now Milwaukee has more marketing than seemingly the rest of the segment combined and TTI dominates HD with Ryobi and Milwaukee.
XGT seems like a great product but the pricing on it is insane. You can get a drill, impact, 2 batteries and a charger in North America in red or yellow for less than the price of an XGT impact OR drill with one battery and charger. The quality would have to be insane to be worth double, and yes I realize the XGT kit comes with an 18v 8.0 amp hour equivalent battery, but still. Now Makita has Powerstack and Forge batteries to compete with and I don’t know where that leaves them. I’ve wanted to buy into XGT for 3 years now but Makita refuses to give me a compelling reason to.
Franco Calcagni
Somewhere around 2007-2008 I bought a Milwaukee V18 drill/hammer. IIRC, it was on clearance as they were just introducing the “M” series tools into HD. The “V” series was a bit of a bust, so it wasn’t just when ITT bought them.
Mind you, ITT may have bought them, but a plan together and it would take a bit before they could implement the new tools they planned.
I don’t know what the big problem was with the V series, for me personally, the batteries died pretty quick, just barely 5 years.
S
Makita’s problem is definitely in marketing.
Without looking, I can say that Milwaukee offers trade specific tools for carpenters,electricians, mechanics, and plumbers at a minimum. DeWalt offers tools for carpenters, and mechanics, with some generic tools that can be used elsewhere.
But what about Makita? I have no idea anymore who their tools are for. Are they competing against Ryobi and Rigid for the basic tools, or do they even offer trade specific tools at all?
I know I can answer these questions by just going to their website, but the point is, if they’re not already priming the information in front of me to know, I’m less likely to even entertain them as an option to consider.
For context, I had no idea bosch offered a competitive 12v line. But when it came time to buy, I still bought Milwaukee because I had loads of questions on where to buy, and if it would still exist in 2 years.
fred
I agree that their marketing prowess seems to have faltered.
Sort of funny that I just got a marketing email from Coastal Tool (one of the brick and mortar stores we used to frequent) – about a Makita caravan being that their location tomorrow (9/26). So, I guess if you’re in the Hartford CT area – you could stop by and give Makita some advice about marketing.
https://www.coastaltool.com/pages/makita-tools
Mopar4wd
I saw the notice from Coastal as well. If you go into their shop Coastal does have a very large selection of Makita in stock and well displayed so I assume it still does well for them. I think most Makita users I still see are mostly carpenters. In particular framing and roofing contractors. I know a couple industrial companies that use them as well but on a visit to one of their facilities recently I noticed some red m12 mixed in with Makit a L XT so I wonder how long that will last.
Mopar4wd
A couple of quick thoughts on Makita’s strong points.
No one seems to deny they make good high-quality tools, which seems like a nice place to start compared to some other brands.
The used to really be the best high-end choice for battery outdoor equipment. But EGO seems to have taken some of that thunder away. Still, when I was at HD the only prominently marketed Makita items were A chainsaw leaf blower and lawn mower. So HD might feel the same way.
It seems mostly agreed that after Festool your best bet for a track saw is Makita, which honestly should also be a point to build upon.
Noah
Yes, absolutely true. I am fully invested in Milwaukee but I’d buy the plug in Makita tracksaw in a second if it went on sale. The problem is now Milwaukee makes a pretty amazing track saw too, and Milwaukee tools get very, VERY cheap during the holidays. So for me it’s going to come down to which one is cheaper this black Friday!
Neighbor Joe
Use Makita sanders for my pallet wood projects. No complaint. Great product. Competition must be tough and shelf space at box stores limited. A Malco discovered with their Eagle Grip product, a tool maker needs more than Amazon to sell a product.
Kyle
As a younger guy who bought into the Makita 18V system about 7 years ago with a subcompact drill/driver combo kit, it has pained me to watch them consistently fumble the ball.
Their pricing really has gone bokers ($80 for a flashlight I paid $35 for a few years ago?), their product lineup is hopelessly bloated with nearly identical tools (especially drills and drivers), and the inexorable march of their competitors constantly releasing new tools where my first thought is “Damn, sure wish Makita made that tool!”.
I still love the quality, balance, reliability and ergonomics of their tools, but I’m not loving it so much that I would do it all again if I were granted the foresight.
eddie sky
Makita (and others) failed at niche markets, and not one solid, battery platform (too confusing). Missing are smaller series for female DIY, and more custom colour options (search Youtube and net for people paying $$$$ for brown, purple, other colour Makita drivers).
Then there is the competition… Box Stores pushing their money makers. Not best tools but those that they want out and making profit (Ryobi, DeWalt, Milwaukee, Rigid). Doesn’t help there are other brands nipping away that are sub-par (HarborFreight, Flex, Kobalt…) and then there are limited tool brands (EU popular but not here) like Bosch, Festool, Metabo, Fein…
Funny. I have a Panasonic Drill and driver set. Years old. Still solid. Lighter than my DeWalt (which is still a fav for hammerdrilling and 1/2 bit mixing tasks). I’m not loyal to any brand… just one that works, doesn’t break my wallet or my tools. I have two makitas..neither cordless…a tracksaw and sawzall. I’m not replacing them, as the cost for cordless is just 2-3x what I’ve already paid off. (easier to get a powercell and plug in if needed…and about close to cost to replace).
Robert
Honestly, after reading this thread I am very disappointed Makita USA is so bad at marketing and getting shelf space. I didn’t know how good their quality was. I bought into DeWalt for the most part. A few months ago on a lark I bought a Makita 9924DB 3×24 inch corded belt sander for $10 on the last day of an estate sale. It was very clean, and ran when they plugged it in. But I still felt it was a gamble, that something was wrong to get a big hand held sander that cheap. I’m happy to say it ‘s been wonderful. The thing is built like a tank. So now I am willing to pay the Makita premium for new tools, but my needed collection of tools is close to built out. I missed the aqua bus for the big yellow school bus.
Rog
My Makita tools are definitely more refined then the other brands I own and more enjoyable to use repeatedly. But that refinement comes at a price; in this case Makita’s boneheaded decision-making and general apathy to the US.
JR Ramos
Now would be the perfect time to bring back Miss Makita….
You know, Makita has always kind of done their own thing and thumbed their noses at a lot of the norms here in the US in terms of business practices and channels and such, and especially at the end-user retail level. Back in the day a great many of their tools were stomping most others save for the strong points of Milwaukee (electric) and Porter Cable (and maybe a little Bosch)…competition wasn’t so developed and successful back then for the most part. So the tool performance and ruggedness sold itself and they didn’t *need* to do a lot of marketing or have great customer service (at any level in the chain…and they didn’t). Times changed an awful lot, though, and Makita had a lot of flub tools that served to sour the name for some. And then like Bosch, there’s the global focus (or non-focus) to contend with regarding some/many tool models that are scarce or not available in the US.
The cultural difference in business is still pretty strong even though they did adapt in a number of ways over the years…..if Miss Makita can’t help maybe their execs and engineers need to take a hard look at their approaches, and most certainly copy a little from DeWalt and Milwaukee on the end-user marketing and service side of things. Just like Bosch, a lot of their tools and tech are really solid, let down by the upper end business side of things…that’s brought down a lot of companies in the past and it’s always a shame.
Noah
When I was ready to upgrade my tools from Ryobi, my father tried to convince me to get into Makita like him. But Makita had just released their new 40v platform, which made me think it was the wrong time to go Makita. Their 40v lineup was very small and very expensive. Their 18v lineup was also very expensive and I felt that they would be now focusing more on 40v since that is the new thing. Plus none of their multi tools are any good and that’s the tool I use most. But the biggest problem for me was price. I got all m18/m12 fuel tools for way less than it would have cost to go Makita.
Then they released their lineup of brown camping stuff and I knew I made the right choice. Makita really needs to step up their game. In my opinion the only thing they can do now is make a battery that can run 18/40v tools like what DeWalt and metabo HPT has, or start pumping out new quality tools at heavily discounted rates. I have a pawn shop near me that has had brand new in box Makita 40v stuff and they can’t seem to get rid of it even though it’s way under priced. It’s definitely a bad sign because the red and yellow stuff flies off the shelf!
fred
I just noticed an email from Toolbarn – about a 24 hour Makita sale
$25 off $250, $50 off $350 and $75 off on $450
https://www.toolbarn.com/pages/savetember-makita-day
Eliot Truelove
Thanks Stu for doing a writeup of this topic at my suggestion.
Makita marketing has been very inconsistent for otherwise fantastic products over the past few years, and I view this appointment as a great sign that they recognize the problem.
Sean Okada seems a very clever guy from what I can find about him, and Makitas engagement with the tradesman I’m betting will increase.
Their marketing department went from only a few posts a week to multiple posts a day over the past few months, and their recent September email blast they featured various contractors and tradesman on Instagram, that was a step in the right direction: showing actual guys using the tools rather than commercials with paid actors.
I am not in the “over 50” demographic most Makita guys fit into. I’m 35 and have kept up to date with the various social media. Milwaukee and to a lesser extent Dewalt are crawling over all social media: Facebook, IG, TikTok, and YouTube. Makita unfortunately fall below Milwaukee and DeWalt in power, but nobody talks about ergonomics and smoothness as those aren’t as readily measurable.
The reason these tradesman are getting up their in years and still able to work is precisely because the tools they had and still have didn’t give them premature arthritis and tennis elbow with the vibrations, whether they were corded or pneumatic, or cordless. I got Lymes disease as a teenager, and for 20 years now I feel it when a tool isn’t smooth or ergonomic. Only Makitas 2nd gen oscillating tool is clunky and shaky, but I’d still take it over Dewalts tense trigger or Milwaukees back massager.
Makita have rectified that with the 3rd gen Starlock multi tool, and have patents out for a 4th gen LXT/first gen XGT multi tool that’s slimmer with a front light and the same or even better antivibration.
All this being said: Im not giving up on Makita, and by the looks of it, Makita isn’t either.
Stuart
Too many users have given up on Makita, because they feel Makita has given up on them.
Makita’s 18V line is not as competitive as it was a few years ago. It’s missing a lot of tools, such as a cordless table saw and cordless air compressor, and there are no higher capacity batteries. XGT remedies that, but Makita USA botched its marketing and has continued to do so.
Why should you buy XGT? “Rare earth magnets,” “pure copper wire,” “built-in microchips.”
Here are 5 years of Makita North America profits and losses:
FYE March 31, 2019: 267 million yen (~$1.98 million) PROFIT
FYE March 31, 2020: 201 million yen (~$1.49 million) LOSS
FYE March 31, 2021: 3,681 million yen (~$27.3 million) PROFIT
FYE March 31, 2022: 803 million yen (~$5.96 million) PROFIT
FYE March 31, 2023: 912 million yen (~$6.77 million) LOSS
(Currency conversion was from May 2023)
If you ignore 2021 as an outlier due to boosted COVID lockdown sales, Makita North America hasn’t made a lot of profit.
They don’t have the earnings to be very aggressive on pricing.
They ran compelling promos last year, and still ended their fiscal year with a loss.
Home Depot took a chance with Makita XGT cordless outdoor power tools this year, and they didn’t seem to sell well in my area.
Makita USA needs the flexibility to meet the needs and wants of USA users – and they don’t seem to be capable of that. Other brands have regional tools, but the USA market seems to be too small for Makita to be able to do anything differently here, except for olive green-colored Outdoor Adventure.
They need greater visibility at Home Depot, but their promotional shelf space has been shrinking over the years. That wouldn’t be happening if sales were strong.
Increased social media posting frequency or attempts to boost engagement is not going to fix any of that.
It’ll be interesting to see what happens. Makita USA spent years bungling things, and it’ll take years for them to fix it – even if they throw considerable investment towards this, which they might not be willing or able to do.