Craftsmen are a suite of tools, grass and garden tools, and work clothes. Originally owned by Sears, the brand is now controlled by Stanley Black & amp; Decker.
The first craftsman tools were sold in 1927. They were not manufactured by Sears, but by various other companies under contract. The tools were sold at Sears, Kmart's retail merchant, and several other retailers.
In March 2017, Stanley Black & amp; Decker acquired the Craftsman brand from Sears Holdings. Sears retained the right to produce and sell the tools using existing supply lines under the name of Craftsman for 15 years after the deal closed. In April 2018, Lowe began selling Craftsman tools.
Video Craftsman (tools)
History
The Craftsman trademark was registered by Sears on May 20, 1927. Arthur Barrows, head of the company's hardware department, liked Craftsman's name and reportedly bought the right to use it from the $ 500 Marion-Craftsman Tool Company. The brand's initial customers were predominantly farmers. Barrows successor, Tom Dunlap, improves the quality of the tools and adds chrome plating to them as Americans move into the car age.
The Sears suite, like many other product lines, uses the "good, better, best" pricing structure, with the "Craftsman" brand as the middle tier and "Craftsman Professional" or "Craftsman Industrial" as the highest tier. Craftsman Professional and Craftsman Industrial is marketed as a product comparable to brands such as SK, Snap on, Proto, Mac, and Matco. The Craftsman standard line is marketed as being comparable in quality to other mid-price brands including UltraPro (NAPA), Westward, Gray, Husky, and Cobalt. Sears also marketed the ranks of "Sears Best" hand tools for the time being.
The lowest tier was originally branded "Sears". The company also uses the name "Dunlap" for its lower quality equipment from the late 1930s to the late 1950s. The Sears toolbar was stopped in the late 1980s and replaced by the "Companion" tool path. The Companion tool line itself was stopped and replaced with the "Evolv" tool line in 2008, focusing on homeowners and DIYers. The Evolv tool also has a lifetime warranty but requires customers to have original date receipt to file a claim.
Since 1991, Sears has run the Craftsman Club customer loyalty program, one of the oldest programs by retailers.
Craftsmen are sold at Sears and sister Kmart store, as well as US Army Military and Air Force Exchange Service, Navy Exchange stores, Summit Racing Equipment, Blain's Farm & amp; Armada, Menards, W. W. Grainger, Ace Hardware, Montgomery Ward, and Orchard Supply Hardware.
On January 5, 2017, Stanley Black & amp; Decker announced its intention to acquire the Craftsman brand in a deal with a total value of $ 900 million (with a prepayment of $ 525 million, and a payment of $ 250 million after three years). Sears will hold a royalty-free license to the Craftsman brand for 15 years after the completion of the sale, and will receive royalties on all new Craftsman sales during this period. After that, Sears will pay Stanley Black & amp; Decker license fee 3%. The deal closes on March 9, 2017. Sears retains the right to produce and sell tools using existing supply lines under the name Craftsman for 15 years.
Maps Craftsman (tools)
Sourcing
Sears never produced Craftsman's own products, instead of relying on other manufacturers to make products for them following the Sears design and specifications, and then apply the Craftsman brand name. Sometimes, Craftsman branded goods include an exclusive feature or function that separates them from the manufacturer's own brand or other brands produced by the manufacturer. At other times, product craftsmen are identical to other brand models with different names on them.
The hard-line mechanical tools (wrenches, ratchet, and sockets) that make up the brand core have been manufactured by various manufacturers for years, including New Britain, Moore Drop Forging, Stanley, Easco Hand Tools, Danaher Corporation, and most recently Apex Tool Group. Screwdrivers have been manufactured by Pratt-Read and Western Forge, but are now supplied mostly exclusively by Western Forge, which also provides customizable pliers and wrenches.
Starting in 2010, hand tools made for Craftsman by the Apex Tool Group (formerly known as Danaher) such as ratchet, socket, and wrenches are sourced from overseas (mainly in China, although some are manufactured in Taiwan), while the tools manufactured for Westernized Artisans such as adjustable wrenches, screwdrivers, pliers and a larger set of mechanical instruments remain in the United States, although some production for this product has moved to Asia. Sears still has an industry line that is sold through various authorized distributors. These tools are made in the US, appear identical to their previous non-industrial US counterparts, except for the name "Industry" stamped on them. They were manufactured by Apex on a US production line that previously produced the United States making Craftsman products standard before production shifted overseas to Asia.
Many craftsmen of portable power tools have been produced by Techtronic Industries. Previously, these products were produced by Diehl Motor Company (Singer's one-time division) and Ryobi. Both Singer and Ryobi have been summarized under the umbrella of the Techtronic company. These tools have the prefix "315" or "973". Most "315" products are manufactured in the United States. The hand power tools of Sears are also manufactured by DeWalt. These tools will usually have a prefix of the "900" model. Some, such as cordless and wireless drills, are indistinguishable, in addition to label colors and stickers. Many stationary and stationary powered artisans have been manufactured by Emerson Electric Company under the prefix "113" model (previously under the prefix "103" which is King-Seeley, but Emerson bought it in the 1960s) and DeWalt. Air compressors are manufactured by DeVilbiss Air Power (part of Dewalt), and previously by Campbell Hausfeld. (DeVilbiss sourced units have a prefix model "919" and Campbell Hausfield has the prefix "106" model). Storage tools have typically been manufactured by Waterloo Industries, ("706" model prefix) while branded garage door openers are manufactured by The Chamberlain Group ("139" model prefix). Hammer produced by Vaughan-Bushnell for Sears. (Code "M" on the tool).
Some tools have code on those that match manufacturers who produce products for Sears (see Reference Artificial website reference below). For example, on hand tools, the code on them will show who made it for Sears. For example, tools that use Western Forge will have "WF" stamped on the tool. The tools produced by Moore Drop Forge will have a "V" on them, the tools from Pratt-Reed will have a "PR" on them, Easco will have "E" or "EE", and then a Danaher-made tool (US made) will have "VV" or "V ^" (inverted "V"). Tang has been supplied by several vendors including the "Forge" WF "tool and Wilde Industries which has a" P "on the tool.Many of the major Sears Craftsman items also have vendor prefixes, which are usually the first three digits before the period or hyphen in the model number. These first three numbers correspond to vendor codes, or manufacturers contracted to create products for Sears.
Quality and reputation
In 2007, the Harris Interactive poll gave Craftsman the highest value for both "Brand Expectations" and "Trusts". In 2009, readers of Popular Mechanics named Craftsman their favorite brand tool hand in their Readers Choice Awards. Craftsman is the official tool brand of NASCAR and DIY Network.
Warranty
Most Craftsman hand tools are advertised as having unlimited lifetime warranties. This lifetime warranty program was instituted by Sears when they started selling the Craftsman line in 1927. This warranty program does not require a receipt or proof of purchase date. If the owner takes the item to a local retail store, it can be replaced or repaired for free. In some cases, such as ratchet, customers can offer repair devices to repair goods or items that have been restored. By 2017, many Sears stores do not offer kits to consumers, otherwise they will rebuild ratchet customers or provide ratchet customers they have built. Ratchet kits for US-made ratchet are different from Asian-made ratchet, although some repair kits for US-made ratchets are now made in China (but again, will not exchange with kit for ratchet Asia). By 2018, some stores will supply customers with reconditioning kits for them to rebuild themselves, others will require customers to have store employees rebuild ratchet for them.
The full text of the warranty is as follows:
Sears has reduced the guarantees that apply to many non-powered Craftsman grass and garden products including rakes, shovels, scissors, brooms, shovels, pruners, hoses, sprinklers, hose nozzles, and other small gardening tools. Previously was a lifetime warranty that on August 2, 2012, reduced to 25 years with a receipt required. The lifetime warranty does not include precision hand tools, such as calipers and torque wrenches.
Many consumers also report problems while trying to get a repair or replacement warranty on tools covered by a full lifetime warranty. Sears' official position is a guarantee to be respected, and many problems may lie with individual sales partners. In some cases, Sears no longer sells certain Craftsman tools, (measuring tape, and wood clamps are two examples), so it is not possible to replace a tool sold with a lifetime warranty with a similar Craftsman tool that will continue the warranty.
The Sears store limits the number of hand tools that can be exchanged per day, in an effort to reduce lifetime warranty abuse. After Stanley Black & amp; Purchase Decker's Craftsman in 2017, they have declared all previous warranties on Craftsman products to be respected.
Power tools have one year warranty.
Legal disputes
The craftsman's tool was attacked in 2004 in a lawsuit accusing Sears of false advertising and consumer fraud for the use of the dubious "Made in the USA" slogan.
Sponsors
From 1995 to 2008, Craftsman sponsors the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, an agreement that began with the start of the Truck Series. After the 2008 season, Craftsman withdrew from sponsoring the series and was replaced by Camping World. In 2016, Craftsman returned to sponsor motorsports, serving as the title name for the World of Outlaws, renaming the Sprint Car Series and Late Model Series to the World of Crags Outlaws Sprint Car Series and World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series, respectively.
Gallery
References
External links
- Craftsman's site
- Artifact Alloy: "Initial Crafts Tool and its Creator"
- Alloy Artifacts: "Craftsman Tools: Maker 'V' and Modern Era"
- Old Work-Working Machines: "OEM List Craftsmen"
- Rose Antiques: Catalog of the craftsman tool
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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