Craftsman pushing out Kobalt at Lowes

[kurt18947]

I'm pretty sure Kobalt hand tools used to be made by Danaher in the U.S. and had a pretty good rep. I think they're now Asian manufacture.

[Admiral]

I stopped in my local Lowes early this morning to pick up some things, and they've totally revamped the tool area, now a sea of Cman Red, literally. The Kobalt tools are heavily discounted, at least in my store, but I've got enough mechanics tools. If someone is looking for a "traveler" set to put in their car or truck, this might be the time to pick up a set.

[DaveParkis]

One thing I noticed on the Cman tools at Lowes is that they seem to have reinstated the lifetime warranty.

[EricU]

I suspect it's the new-fangled "lifetime" warranty that requires you to have a receipt, did you check?  I guess I should start scanning them and saving them

[Cooler]

Craftsman is an iconic brand in the USA, a level of iconicism that Kobalt could never hope to achieve.  It makes sense to move it center stage.

I do wonder what Sears was thinking.  They set up Lowes as a competitor to steal Craftsman business from them.  

In any event I think this is a smart move for Lowes.  

Snap-On and Proto have a reputation with mechanics for excellence, but among the general public I think Craftsman is the #1 quality choice, and has been for years.

I think part of the Snap-on and Proto appeal was that they would finance the tool chest/tool buys.  I don't know if they do that anymore however.

[Greg Jones]

I do wonder what Sears was thinking.  They set up Lowes as a competitor to steal Craftsman business from them...

It's not Sears' decision to decide who gets to retail Craftsman tools anymore-see mvflaim's post above.

[mvflaim]

Craftsman is an iconic brand in the USA, a level of iconicism that Kobalt could never hope to achieve.  It makes sense to move it center stage.

I do wonder what Sears was thinking.  They set up Lowes as a competitor to steal Craftsman business from them.  

In any event I think this is a smart move for Lowes.  

Snap-On and Proto have a reputation with mechanics for excellence, but among the general public I think Craftsman is the #1 quality choice, and has been for years.

I think part of the Snap-on and Proto appeal was that they would finance the tool chest/tool buys.  I don't know if they do that anymore however.

Sears sold the Craftsman brand name to Stanley Black and Decker because they needed cash. Eddie Lambert (the CEO of Sears) just bought Sears so, there's a small chance they won't go by the waste-side like Toys R Us. Wait and see.

[R Clark]

...
I do wonder what Sears was thinking.  They set up Lowes as a competitor to steal Craftsman business from them.  

...

Sears corporate made a decision:  Selling the C-man brand and getting the cash in hand was more important than holding the brand in-house with no hope of the C-Man brand turning enough profit to really make any difference.

They're still selling C-man tools, so they're getting a slice of that action.

But all in all, the smell of corporate death is strong around Sears these days.

[AgGEM]

One thing I noticed on the Cman tools at Lowes is that they seem to have reinstated the lifetime warranty.

One thing I noticed on the Craftsman tools at Lowes is that they do not have anywhere near the inventory or selection I remember "back in the day" at Sears.
But I guess that is a given.

[Snipe Hunter]

So far, the Lowes stores around here are only selling a small number of Craftsman tools. Mostly set aside from their normal offerings as Christmas gifts. some power tools, wrench sets but not much else. I like their Kobalt hand tools better anyway.