Lowe’s to begin selling Craftsman tools, mowers next year
Stanley Black & Decker is building a bigger retail footprint for Craftsman tools: The iconic tool brand will soon be available at Lowe’s stores.
The tool maker will begin selling Craftsman products including power tools, wrenches and mowers at the home-improvement chain during the second half of next year, Stanley Black & Decker announced Tuesday.
The New Britain, Conn.-headquartered company bought the Craftsman brand from Sears Holdings in January for about
$900 million. At the time, Stanley Black & Decker said it expected sales of Craftsman products to add about $100 million of annual revenue growth over the next decade, or about $1 billion in
2027.
“Craftsman is a broad-based brand across North America (and) plays across so many categories and channels,” said Jeffery Ansell, Stanley Black & Decker’s president of global tools and storage said Tuesday in a conference call with analysts after the company released its third-quarter earnings.
Most sales of Craftsman products today are in Sears stores and Sears-related retailers including Kmart, as well as Sears Hometown and Outlet stores, a spin-off from Sears Holding Corp., in 2012. Another 10% of Craftsman sales are at other retailers including Ace Hardware.
Sears sold the Craftsman brand to help offset losses as it struggles to manufacture a turnaround. The troubled retailer has enacted several rounds of closings at Sears and Kmart stores. Sears will continue to sell Craftsman products, but Tuesday the company announced it would quit selling Whirlpool appliances since the companies could not agree on pricing. However, Sears will continue to sell Whirlpoolproduced Kenmore appliances.
“Craftsman has a storied history as an iconic American brand and in Stanley Black & Decker we have found a great owner that is committed to expanding Craftsman and helping it to reach its potential outside of its current channels,” said Sears CEO and Chairman Edward Lampert at the time of the sale.