A couple of readers were told by Lowes store associates that Craftsman tools will be replacing Kobalt offerings.
For instance, in a recent comment to our post about the Lowes-Craftsman partnership, Daniel says:
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I’ve asked people at two different Lowes in my area and both said the plan is to phase Kobalt tools out and phase craftsman in.
Is this true?
I haven’t asked anyone yet (will they tell me inside details if I do?), so bear with me as I think this through aloud.
Would Lowes replace their Kobalt tools with Craftsman offerings? Possibly, on a per-product basis. Would Lowes allow Craftsman tools to eclipse their Kobalt offerings? That’s a tough one, but I don’t think so. Would Lowes REPLACE their Kobalt brand with Craftsman? No, I really don’t think so.
Let’s for a moment assume that Stanley Black & Decker have a strong distribution agreement, and let’s say that Lowes has exclusive retail store rights. What happens if or when that agreement expires? If Kobalt is gone, and Craftsman dials down, Lowes is left in a tough position.
I’m sure that Craftsman tools will be replacing some Kobalt offerings at Lowes. As Andrew reported in his post about Orchard Supply Hardware closures, Lowes is seeking to rework their inventory. Still, right now they have finite floor and shelf space. They cannot possibly add even a fraction of the new Craftsman SKUs without dropping others.
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So, Craftsman tools will be replacing some other offerings at Lowes. We don’t know what brands that will be. Will Craftsman tools take space currently reserved for Kobalt tools? That seems likely – there are a lot of Kobalt tools, and I’m sure that not all of them are popular sellers. But all of them, as some readers report being told? No.
Maybe store associates know something I don’t. But for Lowes to minimize their Kobalt brand in the way that has been suggested?
What would be Lowes’ incentive to do so? In my opinion, it would be a bad move, and one that would hurt them in the long-term.
If anything, I would think that we’ll see a targeted replacement strategy, keeping focus on top-sellers, and perhaps giving up shelf space for less popular items. That’s in line with what Lowes is already looking to do.
Ultimately, we’re going to have to see what happens and how things go. But if you ask me, Lowes is NOT replacing their in-house Kobalt brand. Maybe some tools are being cleared out to make space for Craftsman. That would make sense to me, and even be welcome. But I wouldn’t for a second consider that we’ll see a widespread phasing-out.
Take Kobalt’s cordless power tools, for instance. They won’t be replaced with Craftsman tools. Kobalt hand tool sets? No. Why? Because there’s competitive advantages to keeping separate offerings. Even Sears, which previously owned the Craftsman brand, had a number of other brand offerings, for sales variety.
What do you think will happen?
What do you want to happen?
Nathan
Kobalt power tools are made for Lowes by Chevron – are they not? I believe it makes the most sense to say Craftsman tools will replace Porter Cable tools at Lowes – based on the recent clearances in PC stuffs – especially their cordless items.
Now hand tools – I could sort of see the craftsman hand tools replacing Kobalt hand tools and accessories – but again Lowe’s has someone making that for them now. Not sure who but I believe it’s been discussed before.
And didn’t I read that Lowes won’t be the only outlet for Craftsman tools that ACE hardware and other stores would also carry them.
Stuart
Ace Hardware, Amazon, Blair’s Farm & Fleet, and Atwoods will carry Craftsman tools.
But plans change. I’m sure SBD and Lowes has an exclusivity arrangement, but for how long? 5 years? 10 years? 50?
Kobalt 24V Max tools are made by Chervon. But when someone says that Lowes associates are telling them that Kobalt is being phased out in favor of Craftsman, there’s no context, and so I consider things broadly.
Does it mean mechanics tools? Power tools? Outdoor power tools?
Frankly, I can see some replacements in terms of hand tools, but not in power tools or outdoor power tools, at least for most products that fit these categories.
Gordon
There have been a number of discussions on Reddit about this. Some higher ups at Lowes (not like the CEO) have said that the employee’s statements are largely incorrect. It seems to be that Craftsman will be replacing some Kobalt tools, and the employee takes that to mean all Kobalt tools are being replaced. It seems like the game of Telephone. A little bit of info gets dropped here and there and suddenly you have massive misinformation.
Then again, the new CEO isn’t exactly well known for his savvy business decisions.
DJA
I work for Lowe’s and I can assure you that no one on the sales floor is privy to the type of future planning knowledge claimed in the story. I’d bet it was pure personal assumption.
Also, Ellison is no dummy. He was valued at Home Depot and was making progress in a hopeless situation at JCP. I’m not sure the comment was based on fact.
Tim D.
Would Ellison have even made the early Craftsman deals?
Seems like something Niblock was responsible for.
JamesM
All kobalt hand tools and power tools will be phased out, craftsman cordless will replace the kobalt cordless, they are in process of phasing that out, lowes has a lot of inventory to move and u wont see it on clearance atleast all of it until they get closer to the deadline of filling the shelves with craftsman, same with the hand tools, all will be craftsman. They have an exclusive contract with Stanley bd, while stines and ace will have some craftsman it will be limited. I would guess it would be close to complete if not complete before xmas.
To anyone that has kobalt that is under warranty hand or power, u would be given a comparable craftsman product in exchange for the broken tool.
jc
JamesM, sources please?
Jerry
He has no source. It’s an assumption
Mayor
I have been at the local Lowe’s store 3 times in as many weeks. Every time I have been in the store I have seen less Kobalt tools. Each time I have asked a store associate what was up with all the craftsman tools/tool boxes? Each time talking to a different associate I was given almost the same reply, ” Lowes is no longer making kobalt and we are phasing ALL Kobalt products out and they will be replaced with Craftsman tools. When asked about the warranty of Kobalt tools and specifically if they, (Lowes), would be warranting kobalt w craftsman and I was told not likely. They will warranty kobalt w kobalt until supply is gone. I have also been told that they were not sure as no decision has been made, if Lowes would carry over craftsman warranties. I hate to see the kobalt hand tools go away. I have had great luck with them. My biggest complaint is that the craftsman tool boxes that Lowes has used to replace the kobalt boxes with, which I have 3 of, are junk. Complete crap compared to kobalt. Big mistake Lowes!!!!
Ralph
And how would you know this
Clayton
Craftsman are good for the money I was a little concerned about replacements for broken kobalt tools also thinking about buying the 1000 ft.lb impact
Justin
I have the 24v 900 lb impact love it
REVOLVER
Craftsman’s tools are garbage these days! Kobalt is making some dam good tools these days I bought the screw driver set and I’m impressed so far! All my Craftsman stuff is being fazed out in my tool box…simply because they don’t make good stuff anymore! Craftsman used to be a good mid grade tool and now many other brands are making better stuff then them…Like Sunex, Kobalt, and Tekton just to name a few! I won’t even bring up Snap on because Craftsman was never in their league! It’s just sad to see a legend in the tool business make garbage tools when they used to make good mid grade tools!
ZMan
I work at Lowe’s and Craftsman is coming in with a whole lot of smoke and fire. Dewalt and Kobalt, as well as Bosch and a few other brands are being replaced. Lowe’s is spending big bucks and a lot of manpower to replace the old brands, including some higher end DeWalt with Craftsman. Will they replace everything? Hard to say. But from the looks of things at my store, there’s gonna be a lot of red and black in the Tool World aisle.
Stuart
Thank you for your insights!
Zed
Stuart, I work for a Kobalt tools manufacturer. I may be able to shed some light. I assume you have access to my email address. Reach out if you’d like.
Lorraine Moats
I bought a Kobalt 1oo and some piece socket set. One of the ratchets broke. Took it back to Lowes, where I purchased it in the first place. They refuse to replace it. Why doesn’t Lowes have to honor lifetime warranties. That is not right.can some one help me please.
Stuart
Here’s Kobalt’s phone number: 1-888-3KOBALT
If you run into this issue, ask for a Lowe’s tool department or store manager.
Here’s their hassle-free lifetime guarantee on most hand tools:
Joe Shepherd
They are. I was going to buy a 24 volt Kobalt tool and the store had only one battery for it. The associate said that Craftsman, DeWalt were the major players now. If I can’t get batteries and accessories easily, I’m not buying it. I have Kobalt hand tools and battery powered drills that perform very well. It’s a shame but that’s business.
Phillip Mccarter
I agree Ace hardware has been carrying Craftsman in my store for a while already . But I would like to see Lowe’s carry thier power tools . I think that PC craftsman and kobalt could share shelf space together in Lowe’s . But I think they would do better keeping kobalt . But move most of kobalt to thier online only and carry more craftsman on store and keep Porter Cable . I also think stanley is in a predicament with PC now they have two brands in the same price point so I would like to see PC go back to being high end woodworking tools like they use to be .
The yeti
Replace Dewalt PC and Kobalt all with Craftsman. Stanley has a real brand now.
I will be surprised if Dewalt remains top of the heap. Craftsman in my opinion much stronger brand. Across any number of catagories.
OhioHead
^ huh?
Craftsman has “better brand recognition” then DW? Not for power tools, maybe hand/mechanic tools, you do not see Craftsman power tools on job sites……
Just saying!
josh maier
The new craftsman power tools look Very similar to dewalt tools. I’m thinking SBD is going to have them neck and neck and see who’s the winner. I agree with previous comments, the craftsman brand has got to be the most recognized name in tools. Before the c3 line their power tools were actually on par with the rest of them during that time.
Ralph
And and you don’t see most mechanics using craftsman either
Framer joe
That’s never going to happen
The yeti
Well i just think Craftsman name. They can release anything. Hand tools tool boxes. Garden tractors. Mechanics specialty tools. You name it.
Im 34. I remember Dewalt as making radial arm saws. It was only in my life time they became a power tool maker as we know them today. Crafysman was already making everything under the sun by 1980.
Its not a knock at Dewalt. I just think Craftsman is a way better name. Lgacy warranty will be a god send. They should honour all the old tools. Get people into the new brand.
Anyways. Yes i see Craftsman eclipsing Dewalt. Only way it does not is if SBD holds it back
Joshua M Hall
In my honest opinion, all Craftsman tools made in the last 10 years are junk. I have old craftsman. And they still work flawlessly. I am a mechanic by trade. I use a lot of tools. Craftsman no longer makes anything to last.
Mark
Patience. Better quality Craftsman tools are on the horizon. https://www.wsj.com/articles/stanley-to-make-more-craftsman-tools-in-u-s-11557919800
Stuart
We covered the news here: https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/craftsman-hand-tools-usa-factory-news-052019/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Mike
Sep 8, 2018
Craftsman is junk. People bought Craftsman at Sears because it broke they replaced it. But it is junk. Badly made and a crappy name to boot. Very unreliable I think Craftsman I think of harbor freight.
Kobalt is reliable well made and sice Lowe’s backed them up I buy there. You get rid of to be koalt and then replace it with Craftsman I’ll be going to Home Depot. Thankyou
Stuart
My Sears-era Craftsman tools are excellent, and I bough them at first because they were a good value for USA-made tools, and then when I started buying Craftsman Professional tools, they were a great value for even better USA-made tools.
They were reliable, and some of the tools were Armstrong designs at consumer prices.
The only Craftsman tools that I wasn’t satisfied with were the clunky raised panel ratchets, which I upgraded from, their Pro screwdrivers, which I found to have soft tips, and their pliers which tended to be a little stiff.
The yeti
My older Craftsman USA deep sockets are really well made. I was pissed when a sprikler fitter swapped his cheap mastercraft imitation for my Craftsman deep socket. The fake one looks deep. But its not.
Americans. You guys are losing a lot to lose Craftsman. Up here in Canada. I am starting to see it . Keep this legacy alive friends.
josh maier
You’d be surprised to know that but sears sourced hand tools and kobalt come off the same assembly line.
Joshua
I was told the same thing yesterday. I would be nice if Craftsman had a 24v line that’s compatible with Kobalt.
alan
I’ll be moving to HD also. Craftsmen is trash. Kobalt is 5 times better quality. Someone should make a battery adapter to accomodate all the cordless batteries for my Kobalt tools. You will be seeing some deals on all the Kobalt tools shortly and i’ll be getting my share. Management made a stupid decision in making Craftsman thier main brand
John M.
your wrong. I have been using craftsman for a long time and have had excellent use añd service from their equiptment
Jeff Deutsch
Close but no cigar. The Chinese tool manufacturer is Chervon, not Chevron. Chevron makes gasoline. It was a while before I noticed it. They now own Skil and Skilsaw.
John W Naylor
Kobalt has been and still is great product line. I have their 80v lawn mover, their 80v blower, their 80v chain saw, and their 80v pole saw. The batteries and chargers are the same for all 80v products. It makes things very convenient. Powerful and long-life products.
John H.
Lost the keys to my Kobalt tool box. I went to the store I bought it at and they couldn’t help me. They gave me an 800 number to call. I read all the serial numbers besides the number on the lock. They said the box is probably too old. At best 6-8 years old and they told me I am out of luck. Never had that problem with Sears/Craftsman. I’m not buying anything Kobalt again.
John M.
sorry to say I had the same experience with my 5year old compressor
ktash
The Kobalt brushless power tools are excellent for the price, especially figuring in the price of the batteries, and excellent/frequent sales. If they had more tools in their line, they’s be competitive with Ryobi, etc. It would be a mistake for them to get rid of them, imho. These partnerships can go and then they are left with no defining store brand.
Also, bad karma 😉 to have their house brand become Craftsman and then they are the new Sears. Who would want to be seen as the new Sears, that sad and badly failed store gutted to make a personal fortune for some individuals at the cost of the store going under? Would Lowe’s be next? Lowe’s is a good store in many ways and I’m glad to have them competing with Home Depot, better for the consumer. HD is closer and I go there more, but definitely go to Lowe’s, too. Surprisingly, sometimes Lowe’s has a much lower price for what I’m looking for, or better quality.
I hope they keep the Kobalt brand in their power tools. Don’t care what they do with the wrenches, etc., since I normally don’t buy Kobalt hand tools. Don’t buy Craftsman anymore either, and probably wouldn’t at least until they have a substantial track record of quality comparable to what Craftsman once was. Not holding my breath on that one, though.
Jalopy_J
Yeah, those 24v max tools are no joke and the batteries are so aggressively priced. When someone asks me (and a few people have, non-professionals obviously) about buying some cordless tools, I recommended either Kobalt for quality or Ryobi for quantity.
The new Craftsman V20 line is dreadful in comparison. It’s hard to see Lowe’s moving out their Kobalt line for it.
Jim Premo
I have never seen, on a job site or in the real world, anyone using a Kobalt power tool. I have seen a few hand tools and I own a few Kobalt hand tools.
Derek S.
I use the Kobalt 24vMax tools as a HVAC Installer, love them and the battery price is amazing.
Bill Rouggly
I agree the 24v Kobalt tools are top notch. I own several tools plus batteries in three different amp hrs. Not a lose in the bunch!
I hope Lowe’s keeps them.
I don’t have as many Kobalt hand tools, mostly because I was pretty much tooled up when I was first introduced to the brand. The Kobalt hand tools I have are well made and are lasting quite nicely.
Overall, I’m a Kobalt fan and I recommend them.
John S
I’m just a little weirded out they’re changing colors to red? Is this a shot across the bow for Milwaukee?
Stuart
Craftsman has always been red and black.
e.g. https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/craftsman-professional-20v-power-tools-have-been-totally-discontinued/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/the-return-of-craftsman-professional-tools/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
John S
They’ve been black and red:
https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/what-about-craftsman-cordless-power-tools%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
In the last 7 years. Not red and black as this is.
Stuart
All I’m saying is that there’s nothing unusual about this return to the traditional red and black palette.
What colors do you think they could or should have went with instead?
John S
True, you’re absolutely right. And Nothing wrong with it, maybe its just me. It was just something I found kinda interesting. It looked like the previous primary color was black with red accent so the tool association for me was “black”. Everything from their lawn equipment, tool boxes, power tools, etc in the past seemed to be black primary.
However since this new announcement:
https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/quick-sneak-peek-of-new-craftsman-tools-2018-media-event-kickoff/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Clearly, again at least to me, the focus is on red as primary and black as accents which seemed to be a departure from the last trend. Again nothing wrong with it, just found it interesting. Perhaps its to distinguish itself from the old Sears tools. I just kinda liked the black as the primary to differentiate itself and subconsciously the red makes me think Milwaukee.
David
Sep 8, 2018
I think of Red when I think of Craftsman. Big red toolboxes. My big red tractor. My old work benches. The stripes on my old screwdrivers. Etc.
Lane
I would think it more likely that Porter Cable might get scaled back before Kobalt. SBD already seems to be doing some scaling back/re-branding of a few PC offerings with a shiny new coat of yellow paint. Tractor Supply currently has PC compressors on clearance. Two models caught my eye: the PXCM301 and the PXCM601. Sitting right next to them are 2 nearly identical looking DeWalt compressors: the DXCM301 and the DXCM601. If SBD is indeed trimming the PC line, Lowe’s may not have to worry about shelf space at all.
Sco Deac
A fundamental question to keep in mind is “Why do retailers even have house brands?” Often it’s 1) improves quality control, 2) competitive pricing, and 3) exclusivity/differentiation. The notion that it’s about profit margin is often overstated.
House brand tools have long been used to attract traffic to stores and create a foundation for store loyalty. Tools have been attractive items for retailers to private label. Eg Power Kraft; Craftsman; Masterforce; Huskey etc.
Once you have a concept of “Why a house brand,” the question shifts to “Does Kobalt fulfill that purpose effectively for Lowes?” And “Can being largely the exclusive purveyor of Craftman do it better?”
Gordon
But they aren’t the exclusive provider of Craftsman. Amazon will be selling them, and Sears is still allowed to make Craftsman tools. Lowes will lose on all 3 of the reasons you listed for a house brand.
Gary
Wouldn’t it all depend on the specific deal Lowe’s struck with SBD? If the economics are favorable enough, Craftsman offers a dramatically better brand name than Kobalt.
Remember that Home Depot is sitting across the street with Milwaukee, Dewalt and Husky, while Lowe’s is carrying what? Kobalt and Irwin?
Lowe’s has been getting its backside kicked by Home Depot (look at a 10-year chart of the stock prices) … leading to a new CEO and a new management team. I’m not saying I disagree with Stuart’s conclusion, but if Lowe’s wants to compete with Home Depot in hand tools, it had better do something dramatic.
Side comment … to the best of my knowledge, Lowe’s exclusive right to sell Craftsman extends only to “home improvement” stores. There’s no reason SBD couldn’t reach a deal to sell Craftsman tools in one of the auto supply stores.
Matt
Well, around here, both HD and Lowes are getting their butt kicked by Menards. It’s been that way for as long as I remember. The Menards parking lot is always full, the other two are practically empty most of the time. It’s like Menards gets 90% of the customer base here and the other two fight for the last 10%.
However, concerning just HD & Lowes, Lowes is the worst store to be in. And I don’t want them to be, they just are. It’s the entire layout of the store. Stuff is hard to find, pricing is hard to find or even understand half the time, electrical, plumbing, tools, cleaning supplies (or lack of) are all just jumbled together in aisles. Everything overlaps everything. Their ‘Tool World’ is a complete unorganized mess and is far too small. It’s truly an unpleasant place to be. I try to figure it out when I’m there, is it lack of space? Or is it if they gutted the store and completely redid things could they make the space work?… I don’t know.
What I do know is Menards is the Most inviting place to shop. It’s like an Old Sears from when I was a kid. A place you literally could just go hang out in. My wife and I have date night where we go out to dinner and go run errands together. We always end up at Menards just walking around buying stuff because it’s just a fun place to be. From the layout, to the green carpet, to the lighting, snacks and even background music, it’s the place to be.
ktash
Menard’s opened a store here a while back, and while I do go there for some things, I don’t enjoy the store. I slightly dread it. It’s kind of hard to find things there, and everything is so spread out/scattered. For instance, I went to find Goof Off to remove paint and had to go to three different departments, the first two didn’t know anything about the others. Finally found it in the third section. Not the first time it’s happened. In both Lowe’s and HD, it’s all together. Both Lowe’s and HD are much better organized. The Home Depot and Lowe’s lots are much fuller than the Menards.
Also, much of their store space for tools is Masterforce, a brand I wouldn’t buy, since it seems cheapish. Not sure it is, but that’s the impression. They do have a good selection of some power tools, like routers, though.
Menard’s does have better things for woodworkers and also a much better selection of trim. The trim thing is a big deal compared to both Lowe’s and HD here. Sometimes better prices on things, but I watch the quality. OTOH, Home Depot has the best plywood. It mostly probably depends on the region or the store.
Mike
HD also has Klein, while Lowe’s has the Southwire imitation.
satch
I also think we tend to overlook a bigger picture at times when it comes to tool talk. SBDC makes power tools, hand tools, and tool boxes. Some OPE but not much is widely talked about in the latter regard. And of course a whole lot of other tool related items we do not really think about.
We focus soley on tools here but SBDC is now managing an iconic brand. They are most certainly thinking big picture and multiple inventory conduits. And while we focus on what we want as consumers, their biggest customers are the major players who will be responsible for tens of millions of dollars of inventory and distribution outlets.
While Lowes may have some exclusive for the brand, can we assume it is for the entire 1200 items SBDC claims to be initially releasing under the brand? I think the simple and logical answer is; no. If I were SBDC I would be making darned sure Mr. Bezos was in my future. And with Amazon’s clout and money(hey, they already sell Kenmore) I have hunch we may se an entire Craftsman ‘store’ at their web site. In this day and age of reduced inventories their delivery model would eork very well. As for Kobalt power tools, I am unsure how well they sell. Maybe SBDC will make rhem an offer they can’t refuse.
Jeff Deutsch
Bezos is already selling SB&D Craftsman. They are getting Kenmore from Sears but since Lambert is trying to buy Kenmore from Sears Holdings it is anybody’s guess what wil happen to that brand. Ace used to get Craftsman from Sears but now it has to come from SB&D, per sale agreement. SB&D wanted to add lawn and garden equipment, like lawn tractors. That was another reason for the purchase.
ktash
IMO, one of the biggest difficulties with Lowe’s is their website/distribution process. For many things I’ve tried to buy, perhaps the majority, unless the local store carries it, it is not available to purchase online. They may have it in a store 50 miles away, but you’d have to drive there to buy it. If they are competing with Amazon (and increasingly they are) they will lose badly with this setup.
OTOH, if I want to buy from HD it will be shipped from wherever it is. Their in-store pickup is horribly disorganized, with long waits, but still doable.
Finally, Ryobi through Amazon is way overpriced compared to the local store. Why would anyone buy it from Amazon? Perhaps in a rural area with no HD store, Alaska by drone? 😉 But then, why not get DeWalt, Milwaukee, et al instead?
And yes, they do have Az house brand in other areas, like electronics and I’d rather buy that knowing it’s likely to be more reliable than the Chinese company I’ve never heard of. So, why not power tools. If they were on par with the Kobalt 24v brushless, my guess is that they’d have a decent chance.
Bob
I don’t feel Lowe’s should quit the kobalt brand. For the most part I like their tools. The problem is that they are whoring put the name to make more money. It doesn’t matter the qualuty… just the profit dollars. Unfortunately they see the brand recognition in mind. But they will brand crappy products as craftsman just to make a dollar. It doesn’t matter if that product is worth having or if it has any support when it comes to warranting the item.
Mike
They are red dewalts! I don’t really like seeing craftsman products at Lowe’s. I stopped buying that brand decades ago especially after all the stores closing. I like kobalt hand tools ie. Wrenches , sockets and pliers. If they stopped selling the house brand how do you get a replacement for broken tool?
That was kind of the deal with craftsman and the store closings , no where to get new tool for a broke one. I don’t know why people would continue to buy craftsman when so many other choices available and easy to get in most areas from Lowe’s or home depot.
Toolfreak
Lowe’s fabricated the Kobalt brand since they couldn’t find (or couldn’t afford to?) buy an old name like Home Depot did with Husky for hand tools for a “house brand” in addition to their low-end Task Force/Project Source and mid-level Stanley stuff.
Kobalt has had some ok tools, (especially when they were USA-made and modified Danaher stuff) but lots of their chrome stuff isn’t that great, especially now, and I would guess that Lowe’s is more than willing to become the go-to location for the new Craftsman tools even if it means getting rid of the Kobalt tools where the Craftsman and Kobalt offerings overlap.
There might still be Kobalt power tools, but I would guess that within a few years, once SBD has been at full production capacity for awhile, you will see a lineup of Craftsman tools at Lowe’s closer to what once lined the aisles of Sears than what Kobalt tools presently line the aisles of Lowe’s.
satch
Yep, Kobalt hand tools. I was ready to invest in more mechanics tools from that brand PRECISELY because they were American made. Many of them by Williams. And the worst part was after going Asian manufacture, prices did not dip and in some cases they are wuite a bit more expensive. Particularly ratchets. I don’t see near as many people using Kobalt hand tools anymmore.
I don’t really know about the Kobalt power tools and how devoted people are to them so supoort and warranty issues could be big. On the other hand, if Craftsman hand tools are brought back to America then warranty becomes easy. Trade your broken Chinese tools formAmerican made Craftsman. Most people who buy store type brands(other than traditional Craftsman fans) are not that fanatical about it.
OhioHead
I have a 16 year old Williams made Kobalt socket set that I hope the ratchets never break because the replacement will be inferior to the Williams made.
Frank D
Anything is possible, but I would take the word from a store employee with a grain of salt. I stopped shopping at our local HD for a while because the managers flat out lied to me in two matters, one was the ridgid 90 day satisfaction, the other the 5% competitive discount.
Anyhow.
If Lowes wants to upset its customers that have trusted the Kobalt pitches and invested $$$-$$$$ in the tools and powertool platform; and drive these people to Home Depot / the competition … all it has to do is ditch Kobalt, void the warranties, etc.
I have noted the influx of Craftsman stuff, because right now it gets dumped on the floor and end caps. Ours only redid the tool section last year. Full as a tick. They will have to re-prioritize and do some shuffling and clearancing.
Not saying Kobalt will not be killed off, CEO’s have their own way of doing things … it just would make no sense for customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Matt
What do I think will happen? No clue. I’ve never bought a Kobalt tool and never will.
What do I want to happen? As I mentioned in a post above, Menards is the place to be around here. What I want is for Lowes to become more like Menards. If they can figure that out then I’d want them to become the destination for all things Craftsman. They could become the Sears of old that everyone loved if they wanted to. Except they carry lumber, electrical/plumbing supplies, lighting and carpet instead of mall shopped clothing. Which is what Sears should have transitioned to in the early 90’s.
As for just tools, Lowes here is clearing out everything Porter Cable and all Kobalt toolboxes. They still have Kobalt hand tools and battery tools. Though I don’t know anyone who’s ever bought them. I do know that Lowes has a one time opportunity here to transform their stores and capture an old and new audience. With Sears closing down across the country, Lowes could really turn into something special. They need a major makeover to even have a shot though. Right now going to Lowes is like going into an old Kmart.
Frank D
That’s interesting.
In our area, shopping at Lowes is way easier, comfortable, more customer and even budget friendly than Home Depot and they are head and shoulders above any Sears / Kmart I have been to in years.
You actually made me realize that our Home Depots are kind of run like Kmarts, dirty, cluttered, disorganized, not customer friendly … but with more staff than Sears/Kmart.
satch
Frank, you are more right than you know. For years we had one big box home store in town, Home Depot. It is a smallish store since we have a famously ignorant, anti-development anything local government and they thought a big store would hurt ‘local competition’ of which there was exactly ZERO of. To this day it remains so.
What it created was a you-want-it-deal-with-us mentality. I am not exaggerating when I say employees actually seemed to run off and avoid customers. Being smallish the store about 25 miles away was twice the size and always has things in stock ours was chronically out out stock on. The aisles were always cluttered with stock waiting to be deployed which seemed ironic to me since most of what I wanted was always out of stock anyway.
Then a strange thing happened. About 100 yards away a new Menard’s opened. Hmm. It was about three times the size of HD(not their fault/see locals for that stupidity) and is always neat, clean, and employees actually ask me what they can do to help. What is even stranger is voila, you now go to the HD and the store is clean, neat, tidy, aisles are clear, shelves are stocked much more regularly. I mean, I guess it is just a coinci-dunce that some competition has opened a store gets better. And what’s more, neither is hurting for business. Menard’s actually made HD better with its presence. Both lots are mostly full on any busy Saturday, evenings, and of course sale days/holidays. Win, win.
While Menard’s power tools section is not as robust with name stuff like the other two, they do carry Bosch and Skil(the good stuff) and some others. Not too impressed with their in house brand of cordless stuff but what house brand is impressive? I hope to see them expand the Bosch lineup and add someone else like Makita. Or does HD have a big exclusive with them too?
Derek S.
Home Depot has become today’s Walmart’s and Lowes has become the Target’s
satch
Matt, good points. Similar to what I said above though I was referencing the SBDC side rather than Lowes. Indeed, Craftsman is or should be anyway, an experience of sort. Decent to very good stuff you be happy to give your boy or nephew for their first kit. And plenty good enough for dad to do work beside him with much of the same kit lest the boy thinks he is getting something inferior. This really was Craftsman’s forte for decades. They were never aimed at true pro contracting market. Oh yeah, I know about their industrial catalogue but it was mostly rebadged pro tools with the Craftsman grey or red stuck on it. For that matter all Craftsman tools were outsourced.
It is why I think SBDC can make this work well if the retailers are supported properly and the ‘glamour’ tools like cordless and hand tools are made well and backed up. The new v20(I think that’s right) brushless models are easily recognised by their DeWalt dna and bear much more resemblance to that line than Porter Cable. The lower end stuff…well. Anyroad, we will see. They can do it. They just cannot fumble on the 2 yard line.
Nickjj
What happens when Amazon decides it needs a house brand?
Sbd have craftsman, Stanley, fatmax, b&d, DeWalt and porter cable, surely one of those will become an Amazon exclusive brand?
Corey
Why? The house brand moniker refers to trade/construction “houses,” which home Depot, and Lowe’s are. Amazon, not so much lol Porter Cable has been waning for awhile, surely they’re first up for a weight dump
Stuart
I always considered “house brand” as a shorter way of saying “private label brand,” to mean an exclusive brand owned by the retailer, with products sourced from different OEM partners.
Husky, Kobalt, and Craftsman from when it was solely owned by Sears, were house brands.
CAJUNRATROD
I hate to say this but those look a lot like Milwaukees power tools, wonder if the same company in China makes them even though they have that USA logo on the?
Robert
I personally think that if Lowes removes the Kobalt line they would be making a major mistake. One thing we need to keep in mind is that Craftsman is now merged with Black and Decker, so if the Craftsman tools will be made by Black and Decker and put under the Craftsman name I would definitely not by, for the reason Black and Decker is not the same as it was years ago…now what they release it just doesn’t make any sense.
Rcward
Why would Lowe’s risk their brand on one that has flamed out before? They are trying to bring back Craftsman but that in it self is a crapshoot. Sears is dead, they are praying that Craftsmen can survive. Maybe for the homeowner types out there, but Craftsmen does not bring high end to mind when you think of it. China anyone? Don’t look for Lowe’s to bet the farm on this “ comeback” brand
Corey
Sbdc’s plan is bringing it back to US manufacturing. It’s been discussed here at length.
JP
Do you think everyone will really throw their money at the name as soon as they claim 100% made in the USA?
Jim Felt
Out here on the upper Left Coast Menard’s doesn’t exist. And Amazon is everywhere.
HD is generally clean and well stocked. Lowe’s is kinda housewife centric at best. Sears is still reasonably tidy though the bigger central stores are closing. Kmart is a hollowed out relic of Fast Eddie’s first takeover display of greed. California based Orchard is/was to us very new and kinda nice and welcome size wise and now closing (thanks to Lowe’s latest management shuffle).
The local non chain pro tool/contractor stores are all literally booming as we’re indeed booming.
Note: “please visit but don’t stay”. Oh. Want a nice new 800 Sq. Ft. apartment lease for $2200 a month? Bike friendly? No parking space? On streets never intended for the new density load?
And finally the Ace/TruValue Stores are mostly well stocked with national brands including Craftsman, Dewalt and even better US made brands.
Plus the latest fad invasion is Lime, Bird and Skip e-scooters. Sidewalks. Streets. And no helmets. Everywhere. Darwin will win of course. Plus Biketown actual bikes and the damn rideshare Mercedes everywhere. All thanks to Steve Jobs’ little invention I’m tapping on.
Sorry. I digress. Lordie Lordie.
ktash
LOL!
TonyT
Lower down on the Left Coast, no Menard’s either, and OSH is going, going, GONE!
We’ve got a couple Ace hardwares in town. One is doing very well, and has the most knowledge employees, but it’s a bit far for casual visits. They seem to cater to the trades (plumbing), and I have to admit HD has a wider selection of cordless tools. OTOH, they sell individual L-type hex wrenches, including ball end, which is awesome.
In the past few years, I’ve preferred my local HD over Lowe’s. I’ve had some good experiences with employees at HD going the extra mile, and done some Buy Online, pickup in store transactions that went smoothly. However, their closeout section is pretty lame, but I try to avoid the next-closest HD because their closeouts are often too tempting….
The Lowes seems to have a better selection of corded tools than HD (especially if you like Bosch), but has a weaker cordless selection. I haven’t seen much Craftsman stuff there yet, just a few toolboxes.
Jonathan Taone
Menards for date night in a previous comment is classic! I’ll have to try that!
I love Craftsman and is great for there mechanic tool sets compared to Kobalt. Also like the hand held auto/house power equipment as well (19.2/20/24v lines)
Kobalt is great for the battery powered outdoor equipment since they offer 40v and 80v line of tools where Craftsman doesn’t offer nearly as many battery outdoor options for the same price.
Having Craftsman would be great at Lowes but replacing the entire line of Kobalt just doesn’t seem to make sense. But again if Sears and Craftsman would have never been going downhill I probably would have never needed to look at Kobalt? I agree hand tools/mechanic sets Kobalt has to be struggling since I never seen or heard of anyone recommending a kobalt set. I’m I’m my early 30’s and growing up I never saw Kobalt. Husky, Craftsman, DeWalt, Stanley was what I was familiar with from my dad and I would buy those before a kobalt set based on quality, familiarity, warranty which plays a huge part in buying anything.
Lowes needs to open up more stores if anything here in IL but I will say Lowes and HD are more user friendly websites compared to Menards. I always shop all 3 before going but again it’s all personal preference. I do HD for Behr, Lowe’s has more modern/ contemporary items than the other two, and menards has the lowest prices. Then again, I’ve been going to Ace Hardware lately for quick stuff and it seems there’ one on every corner and they carry Craftsman!
ToolOfTheTrade
First of all why is anyone listening to anything a store associate is saying about Lowes and why would you even mention it? What a bunch of dumbass idiots. Especially the idiot who said it & even more the dumbass who believed it. A store associate? Really? Was the associate a Lowes executive? If an executive didn’t mention anything then why was this post written other than to give some pointless bullshit speculation about something that none of us have any facts about. We don’t know shit about what Lowes is going to do & I highly doubt that they will pull kobalt tools from the shelves to make room for craftsman. Speculation & assumption is useless and pointless. That’s how rumors get started and dumbass idiots believing that it’s true.
RC
Why do you have to use so many cuss words to deliver a point across? Let’s keep this civil please.
BullRoosterHoof
Way to go ToolOfTheTrade!! You hit it dead on.
Glenn Mcdevitt
Would much rather have the kobolt over the craftsman tools.if they do it will be time to buy husky tools from home depot.
Framer joe
Kobalt does not have the buyers that Ryobi does…..I’ll say it again, Craftsman will sell a few tools to some new people,but the die hard craftsman fans will Not buy that brand unless it’s high quality and made in the USA …. guarantee it…
Craftsman will die if that doesn’t happen.
..Right now Dewalt users are waiting till 2019 to see what happens to dewalt…very very few new tools we’re produced this year for the 20v max line , almost nothing for flexvolt…
SBD spent All their time and money on Craftsman leaving Dewalt users hanging…..,everyone I know in my world, framing, construction is pissed off and ready to sell off and go Milwaukee…
SBD is losing their core base and have tools that are 3-4 years older technology…guys are worried about the brand…they had no tool show and no one knows what direction they are headed…
If SBD makes Craftsman tools on par with Dewalt, they will loose all of them to Milwaukee
Corey
Sounds like you’re from an over dramatic neck of the woods lol DeWalt dropped two upgraded fv tools at woc18 earlier this year, and just announced 4 new 20v woodworking tools, just of the top of my head. Now I’m confused, as I’ve seen you raving about flexvolts dominance in your trade, yet now you’re boo-hooing about one year with no tools (falsely) and claiming everyone’s planning to abandon DeWalt… your agressive comments and interactions on here are always entertaining, but this ones just a head-scratcher to me. In any case, I don’t know anyone in several trades who’s talking about jumping tool ships because of this year, or who even feels the need to have all new tools every single year, nor anyone who’s rocking 4 year old yellow tools because they think there’s nothing more recent available, since you know there is. Regardless though, I think DeWalt and likely craftsmanship will be fine. And to that topic-no, Lowe’s will not be dropping they’re house brand to promote an incoming brand that they don’t own. That’s a ridiculous idea.
Framer joe
I get your Not a business owner ,Not a framer, Not a remodeler and dont have dozens of employees and don’t understand economics…hint (write off) …buying all new tools is actually saving money ,please take a class..
Never said Flexvolt wasn’t supreme, again try to focus….the latest and greatest tools Save time ,which Saves money…..saving time puts you on the next project quicker, again cash flow,(take a business class)..
Arm chair laptop tool experts unite!….leave the tool reviews for the Professional Builders who use them daily….
And yes we expect new improved tools every couple years not like Milwaukee gen 17 every year but yes expand the lines 20v,60v,120v instead of craftsman….
A new orbital sander, jigsaw,router,radio,cooler ? These tools should have been out years ago….and yes 3 companies we do business with sold tens of thousands of Dewalt 20v and Flexvolt to try Milwaukee HD who is at least dedicated to new development of cordless tools, which sucks because as I say ….we try to buy American made products whenever possible…
Never said everyone wants to sell off dewalt, I said ” in my world” of framers….Not knowing what DeWalt is doing with 20v,60v,120v ya , worries businesses and doesn’t allow companies to plan ahead….again doesn’t matter to joe DIY….
This is way off topic ….kobalt will stay, can’t see craftsman selling much without years of trust built back up and made in America
Corey
You’re painting with a mighty broad brush, there friendo lol Been a contractor for a decade now, including starting my own llc, if it’s that important to you. Not all of us feel the need to vomit a resume in effort to throw our online weight around in a tool forum haha. My initial point though, since I’m sure you’re going to explain why my work experience is invalid compared to yours, is that you should chill out, man.
fred
I ‘m a bit confused too. Maybe its my lack of perspective having been away now 5 years from the businesses that I partnered in and helped run. But has churn gotten so bad that we need to upgrade our tools yearly? I recall having a fleet of power tools sitting in our trucks and at the work out centers that we sort of cycled through. Buying new as the old wore out – but also testing out some of the new offerings to see if they could make a dramatic difference in productivity, safety or get some job done with higher quality results. I don’t ever recall crews agitating that we jump from one brand to another based on lack of product releases in one calendar year. Maybe if a trend had materialized it would have been different. FWIW – in our remodeling business we had started with mostly Makita when they introduced their 18V LiIon line – but did some migration to Milwaukee – with a few Dewalt 36V circular saws thrown in. In the plumbing business – we had mostly Milwaukee – both M12 and M18. If we started over from scratch – I’m not sure what we would have chosen. But certainly we would not have sought to change out tools with every new model release – unless a new model offered something really special in making our business more profitable or our workers safer.
Framer joe
Not sure what you do, remodeling, plumbing, maybe a handyman? ….old tools sitting around until they break and get replaced ? ….. doesn’t sound like new technology or high end work..maybe a hand full of guys?
Custom oceanfront framing is different on the east coast I guess… cordless means no hott or cold starting generators, no cords, less hazards,the most powerful saws cut faster, the best impacts ,attach faster,the best sds drill faster…the best drills,screw faster, the best brackets make safer stagging…etc…time is money…
If your in business, you understand write-offs ,buissness expenses,cash flow and huge taxes…….why do professional mechanics choose Snap On, Wright, Mac, Cornwell etc…when kobalt could work??…again time is money…they always ugrade to the latest tool to get the job done faster……a nice end result is,the more profits you make ,the more you can reward your employees and give to charity….
OhioHead
I would say Pro Mechanics buy off the trucks b/c the trucks visit them weekly to assist w/ broken tools (convenience) & they finance they tools for the mechanics (get them in debt) = win for tool truck companies.
fred
Had an interest (51%, 51%, 25%, 25%) in 4 businesses. Not billion dollar enterprises – but about 500 permanent employees across the 4 of them – all profitable over many years. Tools in the under $500 each category were typically expensed, more costly items were put on a depreciation schedule. That did not mean that we held onto every tool until it broke – nor did we change out every tool when a new model was introduced. I think we had a pragmatic approach. We’d try new tools – and if we thought that they would make us work better, smarter, safer and the crews liked them – we’d phase them in. Once in a while there were indeed some game changing tools that quickly replaced their predecessors. Time (productive time that is) indeed is money – but constant churn can be the enemy of productivity and profitability. Having bought into businesses that had been failing (one owed back takes and could not meet current payroll) – and turned them around, I think that my partners and I had some sense (our engineering degrees and MBA’s notwithstanding) what adds to profitability.
In our plumbing business – we had 16 vans (including Step Vans) and a 6 larger trucks – carrying lots of hand tools – and a smattering of small cordless and corded (like sewer jetting and drain cleaning machinery). Many of the hand tools were perfectly serviceable older ones from Ridgid, Reed, Wheeler Rex and others. We were not stuck in the past, however – but were early adopters of Knipex plier wrenches when they first appeared in the US. We did residential and commercial work and a little bit of industrial work. We were licensed across several jurisdictions for plumbing, gas fitting and steamfitting – and had the business split (2 subsidiaries) working both Union and non-union jobs We had new and older pipe threading machines (as an example) – plus tools for working with PEX at the other end . To your point of what tools the guys would chose – they’d pick the old Oster threading machine that we had rather than one of the newer Ridgid or Rothenberger machines – so its not always that the newest is best. We also liked to think that is we were not the best at something, or did not have the right equipment for the job – we’d either rent what was needed (if buying didn’t make financial sense) – sub the work out or decline to bid.
We also had a pipe and metal fabrication business that supported local industries and garnered its share of commercial contracts as well. This business – often got visited by the tool truck guys – but I’d thank them but shoo them away when I was on site. Lots of good (even great) tools from Snap-on, Mac and others – but we’d be buying what was needed for production and maintenance – and were not interested in tool truck financing. To be fair – they were more focused on mechanics at local car and truck businesses – and stopped by us to see if they might interest us in some deal or other. As far as mechanic’s – maintenance tools – we seemed to have mostly USA-made Williams and Proto.
The other two businesses were remodeling (typically not framing – although we had done some timber framing work) business and a custom woodworking/cabinet/stairbuilding shop. Most of our clients seemed to want old school craftsmanship to match their home’s vintage. We did lots of hand fitting and trimming work, custom plaster work and rebuilding of built-in furniture. Our woodworking shop – seemed to garner a lot of movie set work – where looks rather than longevity was the focus – and exotic custom stair building. Cordless tools had their place in both of these businesses – but might not have played the dominant role that they would have in framing.
Many years back – we had divested most of a business that provided excavation services – transferring only a few pieces of mobile equipment to the remodeling business. We did that as a business decision – not wanting to invest (at that time) in new Vermeer equipment and a new excavator that we thought were needed to keep that business competitive. Later on – we agreed that it had been the right decision for us – having too many irons in the fire.
TonyT
Great answer. When designing machines or updating, I think along similar lines — be open to change when it makes sense, but don’t change just to follow the latest fad.
Brian M
As I’ve been saying, most of Kobalt tool boxes and SOME of their socket sets. If they phase out any brand it will be Hitachi, who may already have an iffy relationship with the Metabo fiasco in-store. Stanley will mostly be gone in hand tools and believe it or not, this includes a lot of their tape measures as SBD expands other brands’ (under their umbrella) offerings. Dewalt and Craftsman tape measures are coming. Lowe’s is also lowering the number of SKUs which is probably a good idea at this point.
J
Pretty sure something will be replacing kobalt hammers. Theyve been clearing them out slowly over the last few months. Scored some deals.
Also kobalt tool chests will probably go too.
Bill
Kolbalt tool chests going our quickly at out local Lowes. I’m sure the red tool chests will be moved in as soon as there is space for a full display.
PA Dude
Local Lowes has REPLACED all Kobalt tools with Craftsman. The few Kobalt items left were on skids in front of substantial Craftsman displays.
John
As a person who works at Lowe’s . Yes kobalt tools are leaving Lowe’s and being replaced by craftsman
Chris
A Lowe’s Associate pointed this out to me the other day and it kind of makes sense. Lowe’s is dropping Jimmy Johnson’s Sponsorship. Last month, Gibbs Racing announced Craftsman will be there new Sponsor next year. Alot of Crews had Kobalt as a Sponsor. Kind of odd Lowe’s gets out of NASCAR and Craftsman gets back in.??
T.Redge
There is another dynamic in all of this that no one is discussing, And that is that AutoZone and NAPA have both launched “House brands” of thier own. I do Industrial/Commercial Electrical work. Napa’s “Carlyle” tool brand is doing very well (I have been noticing more and more contractors carrying Carlyle tools in their tool bags….with rumors that Carlyle tools might be the exact same thing as MATCO tools sold on a MATCO tool trucks (but the Carlyle tools are priced cheaper) and NAPA stores now carry the full line of DeWalt and Porter Cable power tools.
Back when Craftsman was king, there were no other compreble house brands out there to compete with them. Now there is Husky, Kobalt, Duralast, and Carlyle. Not to memtion that GearWrench brand (which is actually owned by Cresent) that several stores now carry. And now Milwaukee and DeWALT both make hand tools and Irwin and Channel Lock have both vastly expanded their line of tool offerings. . . . . . Craftsman has far far far more competition now in that mid level price range than they ever did back in the old days.
Dean Miller
I love kobalt tools compared to the craftsman junk.why would you even take kobalt out when its a better quality tool?ill now start going to home depot and buy milwakee instead.since Craftsman went to having their tools made in China its been terrible and even though Kobalt is made overseas its still better quality overall.lowes you suck for doing this.
Nate
Went in to Lowe’s last night to get a 6mm 1/4″ drive socket swapped. There was a place for them to go in the socket drawer, but no label. When the tool guy looked it up to see where in the area they were available, he said it showed as a non-stock item. I asked if they were phasing out Kobalt hand tools, and he said he hadn’t thought so, but this made him wonder.
I’m a bit concerned, as many of my tools are Kobalt – and I’d specifically chosen them over Craftsman due to Sears going under. It looks like I made the wrong choice – probably should’ve done Husky.
Joseph H Kramer
MY Kobalt 80v mower had a issue, took it back to store(in house warranty) was told I now must have receipt.. But never have had to before. Kobalts 1-800 number even tells you “never need a receipt or proof” just take it to lowes for a “NO hassle exchange “.. Well thats all i got was a hassle, took me 2 days to find bank record of purchase, then they looked it up and found my receipt. Was told its a none stock item now, and I would have to order online and hope they ship it…”Hope?” the manager said yes, there are delay issues with Kobalt… All he would say.. So now..? I’m thinking to switch to Home Depot for ryobi mower(love the battery power mowers)… Lost what confidence i had in Lowes since this… Kobalt was awesome and only mover with a 80v power pack …. So from where i sit, I don’t want to get another Kobalt, just in case they to drop kobalt totally… So … yeah… Lowes killing customer sales/////
Bob
Interesting. Kobalt is being removed and all Hitachi items are being removed or cleared. They are going full out on craftsman.
jc
Was in Lowes the other day, lots of Kobalt tools and sets available. Didn’t give me the impression Kobalt was on it’s way out, but who knows. Lots of Craftsman too, but the only socket set I’d even consider is the gun metal gray finish. The other Craftsman’s just look too cheap for me. If Kobalt is goes away, I’ll probably buy Husky or HF.
Don
I work at lowes.. and as far as I know porter cable will be replaced by craftsman.
JP
Thanks Don for good feedback! It seems like the overall perception is that Kobalt’s 24V Max line may not have become as popular as need be to compete with Milwaukee or DeWalt. Do you ever hear more about what that power tool team is doing or how they take customer feedback? I think everyone who’s used em think very highly of them, but not enough people know to give them a chance. I would love to see Kobalt put advertisements out on TV or Youtube to get other people thinking “Hmm, my old, corded tools need a refresh. Let me check out this Kobalt brand reviews” and then they’ll quickly see Kobalt means business. Right now, I don’t think that’s happening enough…
Mike (the other one)
This is an old article, and probably no one will see this, but when I went into Lowe’s yesterday, nearly all of the Kobalt tools were cleared off and put on clearance.
I’m not too happy about this because I like Kobalt hand tools. Nearly all of the Craftsman hand tools are made in China, including the screwdrivers. The latest Kobalts were made in the US and are quite good.
It does look to me like Lowe’s is phasing out the Kobalt brand altogether.
Stuart
I’ve been hearing this more and more, but the switchover seems to be regional. My Lowes store still has aisles of Kobalt tools.
J
Mike, I think your last statement about Kobalt being made in the US is a bit outdated. I think that ended before 2012(?) and the latest from Kobalt has been made in Taiwan. I’m pleased with their hand tools generally. At my Lowes, Craftsman has definitely taken over the prime space and you have to look harder to find Kobalt. It’s sad…
Frank D
At my Lowes in centrak ME, Kobalt still has their old space, plenty of stuff, though less than befor and Craftsman is on a few end caps.
Over the holidays stopped by a Lowes NW of Tampa, FL; floorplan redone, Craftsman red everywhere, replacing all prime space, storage, tool, etc, hardly any Kobalt stuff to be seen.
Been seeing Bosch is seemingly getting cleared out.
John
I tried to get my broken kobalt ratchet replaced but lowes couldn’t order a replacement and did not stock it anymore.. they gave me a in store credit.. so… I won’t purchase any more kobalt lifetime tools..
Jachin Bateman
The entire 24v line has been price reduced and found out today when trying to replace a faulty drill that Lowe’s is no longer carrying kobalt. Really liked this brand, kick in the face from Lowe’s!
Chris
I was at Lowe’s today in Louisville, Ky, got curious, did a Google search and found this thread. The shelves in the tool section were nearly bare of Kobalt tools. I was in need of new pliers (regular and needle nose). There wasn’t much to choose from, including kobalt and craftsman. I noticed every tool box and tool box set was craftsman. LOTS of shelf space was empty and they were obviously doing a reset of the tool area. Take it as you may, but it made me feel that craftsman would be taking over.
John B
I’ve recently seen lots of pop up surveys about what name would be best for a new Kobalt line of tools. It looks like the clearance of the 24v is to make way for a new offering. I’ve seen “Ignite”, “Connect”, and a few other branding / logos that they were asking for feedback. Anyone have any more info about this?
Ascrept
This is how I see it. Lowe’s Kobalt and HD’s Husky and Rigid brand lines and are basically entry level tools, duplicative at many levels and all cheap China made. Kobalt does not have the name recognition as Craftsman. HD carries two outstanding power tool companies Makita and Milwaukee, also China made, but with much more integrity and quality. If you’ve noticed, Milwaukee has rapidly expanded beyond power tools and has aggressively moved into a wide selection of hand tools, all well made. That doesn’t mean HD will get rid of Husky or Rigid. Milwaukee is sold by HD and also via Amazon, Fleet Farm, etc., but it’s rapidly becoming the flagship at HD and Lowe’s needed something big. Enter Craftsman, recognized widely by the general consumer and many thought dead with Sears demise. Marketing research at Lowe’s suggests, let’s go after Craftsman, change the color combo to mostly red (slightly brighter red than Milwaukee) with black accents and we’ll offer them as our main venue throughout our stores. To the non-discerning general public eye, the Craftsman tool name was major and their hand tools were associated with quality although their power tools were entry level. Lowe’s then reboots the iconic brand label and it makes it their central theme of power and hand tools, meanwhile the unassuming and unaware buyer thinks he/she is getting great quality. Reality check, that’s how marketing works, it’s perception. It’s really not that important to most general consumers that there’s a difference in quality, as far as they’re concerned, it’s good enough, looks cool and not that expensive. Lowe’s still carries DeWalt, Bosch and Hitachi to round it out. That said, I believe Kobalt has no life at Lowe’s and will eventually be nothing more than an afterthought.
Tool Guy
So I’ve been working with Lowes for almost 4 years now. Seen some things come and go. As far as overall brands of tools, Porter Cable is being phased out of existence not by Lowes but by the big owner of everything; Stanley Black & Decker. Kobalt hand tools are being shortened to 2 bays (Rack to Rack). Sockets and Wrenches are sort of staying but condensed down to basically 2 sets of drawers instead of the 4. Location may vary but a majority will keep Kobalt Power Tools even though I rate the 24volt system they have slightly better than the B&D starter kits.
Tool Guy
How do I know this I’ve been apart of 2 Tool World Craftsman Resets. So basically I got the actual intel from setting the stuff up instead of a “word down the street” info source.
ascrept
Entry level power tools IMO, will always have a market with certain consumers, usually the challenged DIY’ers or customers just looking for something cheap. Sears Craftsman hand tool brand name (not power tools) was akin to Kenmore Appliances and DieHard batteries and were once regarded by Consumer’s Report as excellent choices. Competition and price points changed all that along with Sears bankruptcy. Today, Craftsman is being re-marketed by Lowe’s. Looks great, but it’s still entry level and cheaply constructed. You won’t see it on the surface, but if you pull out the guts and compare the inner workings of their power tools, you’ll see there is a major difference in how it was machined, the durability, the quality and the materials used. In other words, you get what you pay for.
Retired USMC
I cannot speak about the Kobalt power tools but I can say that any individual Kobalt screwdriver will be replaced by a Craftsman screwdriver. Just went to a Lowes store and they are no longer carrying individual Kobalt tools. I asked about the tool replacement and they offered a Craftsman screwdriver as a replacement. I informed the supervisor that if I wanted a Craftsman tool, I would have gone to Sears and purchased it from there. They said that I would have to contact Kobalt directly to get a replacement.
Mike Beauchamp
It would be a bad move on Lowe’s to phase out all Kobalt.Hand tools maybe. Power tools,Craftsman doesn’t hold a candle to Kobalt’s warranty.My Kobalt drill is 10 times what my Dewalt was. Can’t say enough about the quality of Kobalt.At my local Lowe’s last week store was full of Kobalt and to my dismay exactly one week later easily 40% of Kobalt tools and ALL Kobalt boxes were replaced!Asked 2 associates of Lowe’s plans,both denied plans to phase out any Kobalt.Don’t get me wrong,Craftsman are good good tools but I think Kobalt holds up under tougher conditions.
Brett
I agree I have soo many kobalt tools and went to lowes because I hate the newer craftsman junk lowes I’d definitely gonna loose this customer
Mark in Austin
Just spent some time looking at a finished reset of a Lowe’s Toolworld with Craftsman fully integrated into the entire department:
-Porter Cable cordless tools are completely gone. The entire PC double bay display has been replaced by Craftsman. Porter Cable bench tools are still there though.
-Kobalt cordless has not changed, and Dewalt, Metabo HPT and Bosch cordless all have roughly the same amount of space as before the reset.
-There is a new 12v tool bay that is half Dewalt half Bosch. Hopefully this means more Bosch 12v will be coming to all Lowe’s stores.
– There is a H U G E amount of Craftsman hand tools now. Kobalt ratchets, sockets and wrenches have been shrunk to one bay. I think all the large Kobalt socket sets have been discontinued – they were in a special clearence stackout that was built on an endcap facing toolworld.
-There is probably a 50% reduction in other Kobalt hand tools (pliers, knives, screwdrivers, etc. )
-Irwin lost quite a few sku’s – especially impact bit sets, some tap & die sku’s.
-Kobalt tool boxes/chests are almost completely gone – all replaced Craftsman. I only saw one of the Stainless Kobalt Chests in the new set.
Overall, I thought it was a damn good reset. The department shops better now. They removed a ton of wasted space on one end of the department that was essentially a holding pen for extra tool chests, side stacks and compressors and used that space throughout the department. Porter cable cordless needed to go. The brand was a shadow of what it once was. The last few years they were introducing rebranded Black & Decker tools as part of the lineup. Just not a good place to be for what once was a quality tool.
Mark in Austin
edit: after going back, it turns out Porter Cable Cordless is still there, but it has been removed from the featured place it had before and is now relegated to a single bay. Looks like it has about 40% of the sku’s it used to.
**fun game for hardcore lowe’s tool shoppers: walk the tool department and see if you can count all the items now re-badged/branded as Craftsman that were originally other SBD brands: Porter Cable (looks like some of the cordless tools), Stanley (tape measures, miter boxes, some tool storage, irwin (I suspect mainly bits here, but also maybe some hand tools..) at the end of the day, it looks like 65-70% of the Craftsman stuff is replacing or is a direct rebrand of existing SBD tools. Where things have changed is Kobalt sockets, ratchets and wrenches, Kobalt tool chests, Kobalt hand tools, and Kobalt drill bits and impact bits have all considerably shrunk. Bosch, Hitachi, Paslode, Estwing, Chanel Lock seem to be keeping or in some cases expanding their offerings.
Eric
People just look at warranty – Craftsman 3 years and Kobalt 5 years.
Craftsman is supposed to make up for some lost BD tool lines and make money fast not even caring about quality. Look at Kobalt specs – they are crazy.
Theis circ saw is probably better than new Metabo one. Craftsman is basic DIY line and as I feel Kobalt it reminds me Dewalt quality.
What Lowe’s will do – no one knows but if they loose blue they will have red flag )
Roger
I bought the Kobalt 24 volt cordless power tools the other day asked if they were going to stop selling Kobalt cordless power tools and the guy told me he said do not believe people who say that.
Lowe’s is not getting rid of the Kobalt Tools Line restocking he said the store will never stop selling the Kobalt Tools. They restocked and had plenty of Kobalt Tools And I Got the holiday sale price and even gave me a free jigsaw. Sear’s Craftsman never gave deals like that.
Buyer beware
Bought a Kobalt 80 volt 6ahs mower. Mower works well beyond my expectations. With that being said, I thought I would start buying products under the Kobalt name . Now that I see Lowes is phasing out this brand and moving on to Crapman, good bye Lowes.
Bob
I buy all Makita now. They are their own company, not owned by a conglomerate, so they can’t chop and change brands, batteries etc. They are refined and last forever.
Stuart
I can’t tell if you’re kidding or not.
Makita overhauled their 12V line in recent years, completely replacing the entire system with slide-style battery system – https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/makita-12v-cxt-cordless-power-tool-launch/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
And now they have an entirely new 18V-form factor 36V system that’s not cross-compatible.