Almost as if they were endorsing our article about What (the Heck) is Going on With Sears? last week, the company announced today that it will be selling Craftsman tools in Costco stores starting as early as this week. Select Craftsman tools will be in all of Costcoโs approximately 430 discount storesย this year, but we donโt know which tools will be represented. Our guess will be basic mechanics tools as well as some Craftsman 12V Nextec multi-tools, otherย cordless tools, and possibly outdoor gear (weโll know more this weekend). The report broke in the Chicago Tribune and continues a definite change in the company that has been occurring since Craftsman tools began to be sold in Ace Hardware stores last year.
So is this bad or good? Well, for Craftsman weโd say itโs decidedly excellent. One of the most exciting things to happen for the brand in a long time, in fact. For Sears, itโs a bit of an admission that the Craftsman brand may be exceeding the companyโs ability to drive enough traffic through its stores โ which is why there are several rumors floating around that the Craftsman brand is ripe for a spin-off. We canโt see anything bad about spinning off the Craftsman brand or selling it in stores โ once you remove that from the Sears equation. In the Tribune article a Sears executive was quoted as saying โItโs anย opportunity to bring the equity of this product to households thatย arenโt going to Sears.โ And thatโs really the problem: it seems, at least to us, that less and less people are shopping at Sears for tools these days. As long as that perception/reality exists, the Craftsman brand will benefit by integration into as many legitimate retailers as it can get itself into.
Whatโs your take? Is Craftsman heading for a spin-off from Sears into its own company? Will Sears let it go? Jump into our forums and let us know what you think!
