Sears has been in financial doo-doo for a while now. I started paying attention in 2012, when they posted huge losses for 2011. They posted losses again in 2012 and 2013, and it’s hard to imagine that they turned things around for 2014. At best, maybe they lost less money in 2014 than in previous years.
Business and financial media regularly report on Sears’ troubles, so much that the words “possible bankruptcy” get thrown around quite often. They’re not there yet, but a lot of tool users often ask the same question:
If Sears declares bankruptcy, what will happen to the Craftsman brand?
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You might not know it, but Craftsman is actually now part of a Sears subsidiary, called KCD IP. The subsidiary consists of Sears’ Kenmore, Craftsman, and DieHard brands. According to a Sears document, This all happened back in May of 2006.
According to a Bloomberg article, KCD was disclosed to be a separate, wholly owned, bankruptcy-remote subsidiary.
Updated language, found in a Sears 2013 10-K filing (pg 52), says:
The issuers of the REMIC Securities and KCD Securities and the owners of these real estate and trademark assets are bankruptcy remote, special purpose entities that are indirect wholly owned subsidiaries of [Sears] Holdings.
Note the bankruptcy remote part.
According to Wikipedia,
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A bankruptcy remote company is a company within a corporate group whose bankruptcy has as little economic impact as possible on other entities within the group. A bankruptcy remote company is often a single-purpose entity.
The reverse also seems to be true. According to the Dictionary of Financial Risk Management entry,
Bankruptcy Remote Entity: A subsidiary or affiliate corporation whose asset/liability structure and legal status makes its obligations secure even in the event of bankruptcy of its parent or guarantor.
So… if Sears declares bankruptcy, then Craftsman should be protected and isolated from any of the related consequences and dealings, thanks to their inclusion in the KCD subsidiary.
When I once questioned why a certain new Craftsman tool was given estimated availability for Craftsman.com but not for Sears, it was explained to me that Sears availability depends on their buyers. To me that strongly suggested that Craftsman is being operated as an independent or partially independent company within a company. I have for a long time wished for Craftsman tools to be sold via a store-within-a-store structure, but that has yet to happen.
It’s unclear as to what might happen should Sears declare bankruptcy, but one thing is certain – Craftsman’s days are NOT numbered.
Another common question is about which company might purchase Craftsman if the brand was ever put up for sale. If Sears does collapse, would Craftsman have enough in place to stand on their own feet? These are questions for another time, but I think that Snap-on and Rubbermaid (which owns Irwin) are the 2 potential buyers who would gain the most.
Steven B
I love the craftsman name and their general marketing, but their tools leave a bit to be desired. I always manage to find better ones if I am willing to pay more money and generally can find better, cheaper models from other brands. I like how Craftsman does everything related to woodworking…You can buy a planer, jointer, router, etc from them. You can buy a tablesaw from $200 to $2000. I like that…my tablesaw is from them because they’re the only ones who sold a decent woodworking tablesaw at $600 that support dust collection and 0 clearance throat plates. However, it is extremely rare that I find they make the best tools for woodworking. Maybe with some fresh management and decoupling from Sears, they can be a truly great brand once again.
HJ
I had a full wood shop of Craftsman tools, both floor models and table models. A few years back Sears stopped carrying accessories for many of the tools in the stores, except on-line. That doesn’t help if you need something while working on a project. Then the tools became less of quality than previously. They also
reassigned older men to other departments, such as boys clothes, and hired
young guys who know less than nothing about the tools. They are only cashiers.
I now prefer Grizzly tools which are of good quality and they back up the
products, plus every employee I have talked with in person and on the telephone truly know their products.
Dave L.
I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if they got bought for the name but the quality was downgraded. That’s happened a lot.
Eric
The quality of a lot of the handtools has already plummeted over the last few years. The only thing they still have going for them is the warranty, and even that has been going away on some of the tools they sell.
CB
Funny thing happened today. I tried using one of my barely used Craftsman Professional phillips screwdrivers and it kept torquing out, I then reached for my Wera (same size) and tried to do the same thing and had zero problems. Easy decision, my Craft. Pro sets are going on eBay and the best part, sets are selling on eBay for ridiculous amounts; almost at Snap-On prices. I guess word is out that Craft. Pro is no longer.
It’s a shame Craftsman went downhill so much recently, if they sell the company I honestly believe it won’t be any worse, I can go to Harbor Freight and can get some better tools. Having said that, I have beautiful older Craft. Pro. tools from the 60-70’s and still going very strong. RIP
Jon
My Craftsman table saw is from the 1960s. It was my grandfather’s and then my father’s. Still using the original motor. It’s a little bit underpowered for some materials, like the hard maple I was cutting this past week, but I can just feed it slow and it works great. No riving knife, no blade guard, no t-slot style miter slots, but it has a full length arbor for real dado stacks and it’s built like an absolute tank. The bushings on the blade tilt mechanism are tight but work, and everything else works perfectly. The blade insert plate is thinner than most which makes zero clearance inserts difficult to make (I have to rabbet out the edge of 1/4″ material down to about 1/8″; 1/8″ throughout isn’t stiff enough), but that’s a minor issue. I expect I’ll upgrade the motor to a 220v 2+ HP unit someday as I have an entire workbench with reasonable dust collection (considering that it was never designed for it and has huge holes on all sides for belts and handwheels and such) and a router table built around this thing. I used the saw body and cast iron table as the main structure above the rolling 2×4 base; everything else is bolted directly to it because there was no need to try to make some other structure when I already had something so solid right there at the core. No way to swap for another saw, and no indication that I will ever need to. The only way I’ll ever upgrade the saw itself is if I have room for a stationary cabinet saw.
When I see table saws by Craftsman and most every other company these days in stores (non-industrial grade) I have to laugh. Cheesy stamped steel or thin cast aluminum tops on many, flimsy trunnions, motors that look like they belong on handheld trim routers, etc. Sure, they don’t weigh even 1/4 what mine does, but then they also don’t weigh even 1/4 what mine does.
My only regret is building so much table around the unit that it has obscured any sign of what an ancient beauty this thing is. It’s half a century old and running as strong as it ever was. No matter what happens to the Craftsman brand I can not imagine it will ever again be what it once was.
BR
Just as importantly what would happen to the warranty? The ability to easily replace Craftsman tools is, for me, the main reason to buy the brand (especially the hoses!)
Jon
Anyone who will buy it (and there will be a long list of bidders) will do so specifically for their famous warranty. This fear of what will happen to Craftsman reminds me of the panic a while back that people expressed when Hostess went under. “What?! No more Twinkies ever?!” People were paying ridiculous sums for Twinkies on eBay. Absolute insanity. The moment I heard the bankruptcy mentioned I turned to my wife and said, “Someone is going to buy the brand name, the recipes, the trademarks, the distribution network, everything. They will allow just enough time to go by before restoring it that people get nostalgic about it so that Twinkies will sell like crazy the moment they’re back. One year, tops.” I don’t recall exactly how long it took, but I think it was around 6 months before they were back with packaging declaring it “The Greatest Comeback Ever!”
Craftsman isn’t going anywhere. Product selection may change, quality already has and new owners could improve it, degrade it, or leave it where it is, and distribution will change (K-Mart and Sears are both doomed; Ace carries a good part of the line but they aren’t doing particularly well and don’t have room to carry the full line), but they will still be around and anyone who buys the brand will preserve the warranty as any other choice would be a conscious effort to throw away their entire investment.
Still, stranger things have happened. I worked for a company that went through bankruptcy and then some investors came in and bought up everything and changed the name very slightly so that it was legally a new entity. When they did so they quietly enacted a policy that all previous gift cards, in-store warranties, etc. were all void. Not one minute for customers to redeem their gift cards or anything. I got out as soon as I could after that because even though most stores were still open they were obviously not going to make it. All I could figure was that those investors just didn’t like having so much money. They folded completely a few months after I left. Thousands of people across the country were out of work, and the investors lost millions of dollars, but the morons who actually ran the company into the ground walked away with Millions from the sale. So who knows? Maybe someone that stupid will buy Craftsman. But I really doubt it.
SteveR
I’m not an attorney, but Sears going into bankruptcy probably won’t mean the end of the company. Airlines and other corporations go into bankruptcy all the time; they just call it “reorganization”. They continue on in business, sometimes the better for it. Perhaps the dullards that caused the company to seek bankruptcy protection will be ousted and a better management team will take over. “What-ifs” are open-ended, and we won’t know these answers until it happens. Sears might just be “too big to fail”, and someone (the Feds?) may loan them the money to stay afloat. There’s lots of possibilities, and we don’t know everything that’s going on in the background.
adam
they have been going under too long for that I think. Their owner has had ot pump a ton of his own money to keep the company going. Nice to see the confidence at the CEO level, but if you ever go into a Sears, you get a feeling it’s on its way out
Zachary
The ceo is some hedgefund guy that lent money to sears at a really high interest rate and sears put all of its properties as collateral so sears can dealt on the loan and he can sweep up all those delicious retail locations to sell.
jesse
Eddie Lampert
Jon
Sears, like K-Mart and ShopKo (both in major trouble) and Mervyn’s (already gone) and others, is stuck in the middle. They are neither a high-end brand nor a discount chain, and we live in a world of polarizing consumerism. People drive luxury vehicles to Walmart and beaters to Dillard’s and Nordstrom’s. The middle class that made companies like Sears successful is similarly on its way out. There is a great book on this subject called “Trading Up; The New American Luxury”, written by guys from the Boston Consulting Group. People choose areas of their life where they will trade up (Starbucks, Callaway, BMW/Mercedes/Cadillac/Lexus, etc.) and areas where they will trade down (Walmart, Harbor Freight, Kia/Hyundai/Daewoo (at the time), etc.) in order to afford those areas they prefer. Oldsmobile, Buick, Chevrolet, and other non-polarizing (or at least non-stratifying; obviously there is still Ford vs. Chevy vs. Dodge polarization) brands get left behind if they don’t adapt.
T
Meh. Too bad Cman is now being sold at ACE, their old house brand pro line of sockets, wrenches, etal was far better value, sans COO, than the current Cman offerings at a higher price point, especially when the new Cman tools are made overseas too. Craftsman will die, if ever, from poor product development and misguided marketing. Sears is closing three more stores in my area, its only a matter of time. The writing was on the wall when they stopped publishing their yearly store catalogues about a decade ago.
John
I bet craftsman would jump on the ace bandwagon. They both have strong names and ace would be smart to pick up the full line
Stan
Considering a large majority of Craftsman branded items are imported and seemingly very little is American made, this wouldn’t be that much of a loss. Lifetime warranty is great and all, but if the item you are warranting isn’t made anymore or isn’t made in USA anymore, there doesn’t seem to be much of a victory either way.
SK tools also have a lifetime warranty as well, but ALL of their tools are made in USA. Now that most, if not all SK tools are sold at Harry J Epstein’s, buying SK tools is now even easier.
I don’t enjoy writing this, but the glory days of Sears are long over. This has been the case for a long time.
Jerry
I just bought some Craftsman Professional series tools, that were USA made, on sale cheaper than comparable SK from HJE, and got free standard (slow) shipping. They just showed up, and they seem equal or better in quality to similar 30+ year old Craftsman tools they are replacing due to us losing enough pieces it made sense to buy a whole replacement set.
Stan
Jerry, as Stuart has mentioned in the past, Sears has discontinued Craftsman Professional line of tools so you likely bought new old stock. Additionally, most Craftsman Professional and even Husky Professional tools (screwdrivers/punches) were made by Western Forge.
This is common knowledge but Ideal industries has owned Western Forge for a while now. Ideal also owns SK as well. While the price might be lower, that is probably because these are on clearance.
Even with a lifetime guaranty, if you ever need to warranty any of those Craftsman Professional tools you bought, you are out of luck given these Craftsman Professional tools have been discontinued. I’ve had that issue with Craftsman myself and the associates I’ve dealt with at Sears basically told me “tough luck” and I left the store with no progress at times.
Whereas with SK, their tools seldom seem to be discontinued and even so, Harry J Epstein NEVER has turned their back on me and have treated me with nothing but absolute respect. That and they are educated in what they sell and the brands they sell as well. Good luck finding at Sears now and days.
Lynyrd
Sears Holdings Corp is not in danger of Bankruptcy. The CEO Edward Lampert personally loaned SHC 330 million. They will continue to trim under performing stores.
Please review release from SHC in December:
“This morning, we filed a Form 8-K with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) which included an update on our third quarter 2014 performance, our estimated 2014 financial position and the actions we are taking to improve liquidity and our business operations. We provided this update related to the rights offering announced on Oct. 20, 2014.
First, Sears Holdings’ operating performance has stabilized. Our domestic adjusted EBITDA for Q3 2014 is expected to be similar to the same period last year. This represents a meaningful change in the trend of the business relative to the prior six quarters. We believe this is a positive development that we currently expect to continue into the fourth quarter. Domestic adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter is expected to be between ($275) million and ($325) million, compared to $(310) million in the third quarter of last year.
Second, we shared our estimated third quarter 2014 financial position. From a liquidity standpoint, as of the end of Q3 2014, we had cash of approximately $330 million and availability under our credit facility of $234 million. Assuming that both rights offerings had been fully subscribed and completed as of Nov. 1, 2014, availability under our credit facility would have been $1.1 billion versus $572 million last year.
At the end of the third quarter, debt (including pension and retirement obligations of approximately $1.3 billion on an as reported basis) was $6.3 billion which was about $400 million lower than the levels of the third quarter last year. Assuming that both rights offerings were fully subscribed, debt would be approximately an additional $200 million lower. This would be a decline in debt (including pension and retirement obligations on an as reported basis) of over $600 million year over year.
Third, we are continuing to take actions to improve liquidity and financial flexibility. Between this update and previously announced liquidity actions completed or underway, we now expect that, we will have generated between $1.1 billion and $1.5 billion from September of 2014 through November 18.
We are also actively exploring means to monetize a portion of our owned real estate portfolio (potentially in the range of 200 to 300 stores) through a “sale-leaseback” transaction. Under a sale-leaseback, we would sell selected stores to a newly-formed real estate investment trust (REIT). In the event this sale-leaseback transaction occurs, SHC would realize substantial proceeds from the transaction which would further enhance our liquidity. We would then immediately lease the stores back from the REIT so that our operations continue seamlessly.
If we decide to pursue a sale-leaseback, we expect to distribute to our shareholders, on a pro rata basis, rights to purchase shares of the REIT. The REIT would then partially fund the purchase of the stores with the subscription proceeds of the shares, and the rest of the purchase price would be covered by mortgage or other debt financing.
This is yet another example of our ongoing effort to transform our business and create value for shareholders by proactively right-sizing, redeploying and highlighting the value of our assets, including our substantial real estate portfolio.
I remain committed to executing on our transformation and believe the actions we’ve taken demonstrate our continued ability to show financial flexibility and to fund the transformation. We are acutely focused on restoring Sears Holdings to profitability and I am confident we have a framework and path to do so. As we head into the most important quarter of our fiscal year, I ask every associate to remain focused on serving our members and doing your part to support SHC on the path to success and profitability.”
One day, Mr. Lampert may decide to sell brand names. Home Depot attempted to buy Kenmore and Craftsman at one time and remember Lowes purchased Orchard Supply Hardware from SHC. OSH continues to carry Craftsman.
I believe the bigger question is who will take up the mantle for Craftsman Industrial. These are still Made in the USA by Danaher and Apex Tools, but have limited online distribution. I believe that this is an opportunity for Specialty Retailers to serve a needed niche.
Craftsman was the one place tradesman and mechanics could buy Made in the USA tools at reasonable prices. It was how my father was able to being his career. Sure, Snap-On in a fantastic product, but if you are starting out and need a full set of reliable tools, there was nothing better. Craftsman needs to take back this buyer and fill this need. Who ever decides to use this approach will succeed.
MichaelR
Craftsman tools have pushed hard into the commercial market for some time and have improved their status as a premier vendor for Many industrial distributors and consider them platinum “vendors”. So if anything, store in a store itself is always possible however, as an example a company like Hilti have loaded up their market stores after the Home Depot fiasco and were hardly marketing a decade ago. At one point Hilti was on the verge of shutting down over a bad technological mistake In the 90’s but they came back stronger considering they ” assemble ” some of their tools in China. Craftsman is a much more recognizable brand and could result if “sears” closes its stores as a premier tool company brand again or for that matter a much better marketed and USA brand.
Craftsman is a name that almost everyone knows which I believe still a reputation worth buying. China made craftsman tools Maybe the one that gets the shaft and go back all USA. You just never know.
Brian
Years ago, before HD and lowes were on every corner, sears was something special, or atleast unique. They were about the only tool the shade tree mechanic could afford, made in america, lifetime warranty!
I dont think anyone would miss it now… its price point and lineup is pretty well matched by kobalt and husky for hand tools, as well as the wider tool market of independent tool makers for power tools. Ill assume it could persist on the shelves beside the ridgid/dewalt/ryobi/ect.
Bryan
I remember going with my dad in the early 80’s to Sears and looking at all the Craftsman tools that were made in the USA. I remember 15 years ago going to Sears and buying Craftsman tools to work on my mustang. My parents gave me a few Craftsman tool sets, an air compressor and a nice tool chabinet/chest combo that was USA made. Stuff I will always keep with me. That being said I was in a Sears last week and there were so few USA made tools it made me really sad. I now look to ebay, etc to buy my craftsman USA made tools when I need them.
Jim Felt
Sears and for that matter Montgomery Ward represent the classic department store model. Which is simply too 19th Century for this Amazon/Tooguyd/Internet era. And the big box concept and massive offshoring haven’t helped much either. We’re just witnessing a changing of the guard/paradigm shift in retail sales.
Jim Felt
Oops!!! “Toolguyd”! Blame my iPhone spellcheck.
Porphyre
Yeah, personally, I stopped buying Craftsman tools when they moved all their hardline stuff to China. Why pay $30 for 5 Chinese wrenches with lifetime warranty from Sears when I can pay $15 for 5 higher quality Taiwanese wrenches with lifetime warranty from Harbor Freight?
The fact that there are no USA Craftsman replacement tools makes the warranty worthless.
For tools I depend on, I’ve been paying premium dollars for USA-made SK and Armstrong.
CB
I’m guessing craftsman would be spun off as that has been whispered about for the last few years.
The big question is that if the new buyer of Craftsman will honor the existing warranty on tools? I would think not and ride out the neg. backlash.
Today’s society pretty much has a really short term memory so it will probably not be that big of a deal for the new owner or company.
It will be a harsh reality for existing tool owners and a very sad day in the garages of many americans if that happens. The name Craftsman will be forever changed with a major job ahead to rebrand the name where it will again get respect and make money. I foresee a Tektron like business plan for Craftsman.
It’s ok, the euro is almost even with the dollar night now and really liking the tools coming out of Germany (there keepers) so I’m good but it’s sad what’s happening to our homeland (asian) tool making.
Toolfreak
The Craftsman, DieHard, Kenmore, etc. names will sell for a good bit if/when Sears goes away.
I’d expect Home Depot to be among those who want the Craftsman brand name, and it would replace the Husky tools lineup, which once shared a lot of the same tools from Western Forge.
Newell/Rubbermaid might want it too, although they have less of a broad tool line to make use of it.
Part of why Craftsman was such a great brand was that Sears stuck the Craftsman name on tools made by other companies, sold the tools for less, and made them easier to buy at a local store. I’d expect once Sears goes, unless a similar retailer like HD grabs it up, those days will be gone forever and Craftsman will just be a brand name stuck on some cheap China-made pliers/screwdrivers/wrenches, not unlike what Sears has been doing recently.
Lynyrd
Here’s the thing when looking for possible suitors for the Craftsman brand; very few bricks and mortar stores dedicate the space for Mechanics Tools.
Home Deport would have a difficult time displaying the tool line. Further they have done a horrible job defining the Rigid brand name and Husky. There is still overlap.
Lowes has actually done the best job building a new brand with Kobalt. That said, they have shown no emphasis to Made in USA tools (eliminating Estwing and most of Channellock), so if Lowes purchased the Craftsman name, they would probably continue with China/Taiwan procurement.
There are players such as Ace, Orchard, Sears Home Town Stores (Not part of Sears Holdings) which carry Craftsman, but again none of these could dedicate the square footage that Sears Full line stores currently do.
I strongly contend that a new or existing chain dedicated to Craftsman Industrial Made in USA tools with some Craftsman non-USA tools such as woodworking bench tools, could find a place. Of course it would mainly have to operate online, but “Showrooms” could have their place.
In this vain, Auto Parts stores such as Pep Boys, Auto Zone, NAPA, and so on, would be a perfect landing spot for Craftsman Industrial. Think about it, they would not need to be concerned about carrying woodworking equipment and could concentrate on Made in the USA Craftsman Industrial MEP tools (Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing) tools with in place warehouse distribution. None of them have identifiable tool brands difficult to liquidate.
The only thing someone carrying Craftsman Industrial could not do is exchange Craftsman tools, even older Made in USA tools as it would be cost prohibitive.
There is still a niche between Professional Tools offered by traveling salesmen (SnapOn, Mac, Matco) and foreign-made tools (Craftsman, Kobalt, Dewalt, Husky). Whoever rediscovers this niche and utilizes the still well known Craftsman brand will be successful, whether they use Craftsman Industrial or Craftsman name as long as it offers Made in USA tools.
Just Sayin’
ktash
Whoever picks up Craftsman (and diehard and kenmore) would do well to make a better online presence. Currently, if I want a tool from Sears, and go online it’s a big messy hodgepodge of stuff that is impossible to sort my way through. I normally do this before I got to bricks and mortar to see if they have what I want and if it’s in stock. Even then you can’t always find something that’s there. If you know exactly what you want, best bet is to order and pay online then pickup from the dock area.
I stopped looking at their website for Craftsman mostly. Then they have a separate Craftsman site. Plus their loyalty program is confusing. Just a %off coupon or a $off coupon, or even points that are straightforward. It’s all convoluted like made by a committee where no one agrees so they try everything at once. Then there is a Craftsman website separate from sears, pretty much a messy thing. I only go on there to see the specs of a tool, but then can’t figure out if the local store has it.
Not willing to spend hours deciphering/sorting their multiple systems of sites, retailers, promotions, etc. Sears was once my main place to get paint, tools, kids clothes, washing machines, laundry detergent. Now they don’t even register on the radar. Sad.
Their local store seems to be staffed by do-nothing know-nothing “associates” and “managers” who don’t even set stuff up in a logical way. Pliers in several sections, for instance that the guy who set it up can’t remember. Even though it showed online that they had it.
They started with a catalog back in the early 1900’s or even earlier. They had standard things you could trust, even decent houses! That was part of the appeal. Something simple and easy like that would work much better.
Ace’s website is also not good, but the local stores have really helpful folks so I’m willing to walk in frequently. Lowe’s website is horrible and so, for that matter is the Rockler site that once was excellent. Both have lost some of the business I once gave them because I just can’t find/research what I need. But none of these are the disaster that is online Sears/Craftsman. If a company skimps on their website, they are penny-wise and pound-foolish.
Ken S.
Really no love lost. The Craftsman name has gone downhill for quite some time. I remember when Craftsman was the “need to have” brand and now I try to buy everything but. The Craftsman line in my mind only exists in used to vintage tools, at this point in time they are only considered an upgrade if you are replacing something from HFT.
Let the brand die, or be revamped by an american tool maker capable of making quality tools.
Kevin
I was a huge craftsman fan up to a few years ago, but its Craftsman in name only these days. Craftsman is a hollow shell of it’s former self, Kmart/Sears has debased the brand to the point I’ve lost interest in anything they sell, with the exception of maybe the WF screwdrivers everything seems to be made overseas. I prefer high quality or disposable tools, nothing in the bottom middle.
ajw1978
I write this as I’m going on hour nine of my day-long effort to spend money with Sears. When I started my “real” tool collection a few years back, I went with Craftsman as I recognized the brand, was near two Sears and had a friend who managed one. But now, I’ve found nothing but foreign-made trash, both Sears near my home have closed and my friend has gone into selling insurance.
Today alone, I have placed two orders only to have both of them cancelled within moments because of some computer glitch. I’ve called five of their sub-departments (Sears, Sears.com, Craftsman, Shop Your Way, Sears Outlet) to get it rectified and all I get is runaround.
And that seems to be par for the course with Sears. Their prices vary depending on which sub-site you visit (Craftsman/Sears/ShopYourWay); they have four variations of the same item in the store, with different pricing; they have a near fraudulent coupon/promo policy, and store staff who just don’t understand or comprehend the warranty policy.
It’s beyond frustrating these days to go into a Sears. When I went to buy my Miter Saw — as a “new” tool consumer, I had a lot of questions — but couldn’t get a single answer that helped me with my purchase. Had a guy try to sell me an impact driver as a drill; a girl at another store didn’t know what a band saw was (“we don’t sell musical instruments”) and trying to buy something online is a whole different kind of night mare.
Today, I had a customer service agent tell me “then just go to (bleeping) home depot” and hang up on me. I guess I’ll take his advice … just like, it seems, everybody else in America.
I took a lot of grief from my friends for my loyalty to Craftsman. But, I just can’t see any manner in which I’ll continue supporting that dying company.
Andy M.
Worked at Sears from 2002-10,part time in the tool dept.It was the last time Sears tried to regain market share with Craftsman and other brands.When the gangster bankers took over,I went from a decent hourly wage to base+commission the percentages never revealed.The product line just sailed ever lower in quality,and Management went back to hiring kids with zero product knowledge,which created a lot of returns.Parted ways in 2010 as I had the nerve to ask for unpaid time off.Previous employers never had a problem with that.Another American Icon murdered by a Hedge fund.
Andy M.
Not to expound to much on my previous post,when people buy tools based on warranty vs. end use,it’s kind of a red flag.The framing hammers and the tape measures for example.Before the recession,in one day alone,I exchanged 20 framing hammers that were used by the non union wood butchers,not to be confused with real carpenters.One them wanted me to explain how to use a framing square.Like that matters in pre fabs.I still have my 44 year old kromedge framing suare that was used quite a lot back in the day.
Frank
Maybe Snap-On will buy them and we can pay $150.00 for a phillips head screwdriver?
BH
Black and Decker. RIP Craftsman “lifetime” warranty – now onto Rigid.
Tony B.
I hope Craftsman stays in business because I like there tools, I have a small roll-a-way tool box, I also have a lot of hand tools and I like there bolt on drill motors, I have a drill motor I also have a tire pump and a jig saw and a small skill saw. So who ever bought Craftsman please keep selling those tools.
Roland Johnson
I certainly think they will at least close many (maybe most) of the stores. The Sears closest to me used to be part of a mall and did pretty well. Except for the Sears, the mall was replaced by several separate stores (including a large Target) and ever since, the Sears always has a nearly empty parking lot. But I rode by a store yesterday in a mall several miles away and the parking lot was pretty full. I was amazed. So some stores are still doing well.