Craftsman (tools)

Craftsman

Type	Hand tools, power tools, lawn and garden equipment
Owner	KCD IP, LLC a Sears Holdings Corporation subsidiary[1]
Country	USA
Introduced	1927
Related brands	Evolv, Craftsman Professional, Companion, Dunlap
Website	www.craftsman.com

Craftsman is a line of tools and lawn and garden equipment controlled by Sears Holdings Corporation; the brand is owned by KCD IP, LLC, a special purpose entity created by Sears Holdings for securitization purposes.^[1]

The tools are sold in Sears, Kmart, and Orchard Supply Hardware stores (all three owned by Sears Holdings), as well as Fastenal,^[2] US military Army and Air Force Exchange Service stores, and Ace Hardware.^[3][4]

The Craftsman Industrial line is sold by industrial supplier W. W. Grainger^[5].

Additionally, Craftsman Hand Tools are also sold at "The Craftsman Experience," the brand's retail venue in downtown Chicago.^[6]

General hand tools have been made by a variety of manufacturers over the years including New Britain,^[7] Moore Drop Forge,^[8] Stanley,^[9] Easco Hand Tools,^[10] and most recently the Danaher Corporation^[11] (wrenches, ratchets, and sockets) and Western Forge^[12] (screwdrivers, pliers, and adjustable wrenches). Many newer tool designs are now imported, mostly from China. Craftsman-branded garage door openers are manufactured by The Chamberlain Group.^[13]

Consumers have ranked the Craftsman brand second (surpassed only by Waterford Crystal) in terms of quality.^[14] In 2007, Craftsman was named "America's Most Trusted Brand" and brand with "Highest Expectations".^[15] In 2009, the readers of Popular Mechanics named Craftsman their favorite brand of hand tools in their Reader's Choice Awards.^[16] Craftsman is the official tool brand of NASCAR and the DIY Network.^[17]

History

Companion logo.

Craftsman Evolv logo.

The Craftsman trademark was registered by Sears on May 20, 1927.^[8] Arthur Barrows, head of the company's hardware department, liked the name Craftsman and reportedly bought the rights to use it from the Marion-Craftsman Tool Company for $500.^[18] The brand's early customers were mostly farmers. Barrows' successor, Tom Dunlap, upgraded the quality of the tools and added chrome plating to them as America moved into the automobile age.^[19]

Sears' tool line, like many of its other product lines, uses a "good, better, best" pricing structure,^[20][21] with the Craftsman brand as the middle tier and Craftsman Professional as the highest tier. Craftsman Professional is often considered close to but less than brands like S-K, Snap on, Mac, and Matco. Craftsman are comparable in quality to other mid-price brands including UltraPro (NAPA), Westward, and Gray.

The lowest tier was originally branded Sears. The company also used the Dunlap name for its lesser quality tools from the late 1930s until the late 1950s.^[22] The Sears tool line was discontinued in the late 1980s and replaced by the Companion tool line. The Companion tool line was itself discontinued and replaced by the Evolv tool line in 2008,^[23] with a focus on homeowners and DIYers. Evolv tools also have a lifetime warranty but require that the customer have the original dated receipt to enact it.^[24]

Since 1991, Sears has run the Craftsman Club customer loyalty program, one of the oldest such programs by a retailer.^[25]

Warranty

Craftsman hand tools have an unlimited lifetime warranty.^[26] This lifetime warranty program was instituted by Sears when they began selling the Craftsman line in 1927.^[27] This warranty program requires no receipt or dated proof of purchase. If the owner takes the item into a local retail store, it may be replaced or repaired free of charge.^[28] In some cases, such as ratchets, the customer may be offered a repair kit with which to repair the item.

The full text of the warranty is as follows:

If for any reason your Craftsman hand tool ever fails to provide complete satisfaction, return it to any Sears store or other Craftsman outlet in the United States for free repair or replacement. This warranty gives you specific legal rights and you may also have other rights which vary from state to state.^[29]

The hand tool lifetime warranty is also in effect on many Craftsman non-powered lawn and garden products including rakes, shovels, clippers, brooms, trowels, pruners, hoses, sprinklers, hose nozzles, and other small gardening hand tools.^[30] The lifetime warranty does not include precision hand tools, such as calipers and torque wrenches,^[31] with the exception of beam-style torque wrenches.

Power tools have a one-year warranty.^[30]

After the merger, Kmart began selling Craftsman products and honoring the hand tool lifetime warranty.^{[citation needed]}

Legal battles

Craftsman tools came under fire in 2004 in a lawsuit accusing Sears of false advertising and consumer fraud for questionable use of the "Made in USA" slogan.^[32]

While most Craftsman hand tools are manufactured in the U.S., many power tools and accessories are manufactured overseas, sometimes with the final assembly taking place in the U.S.^{[citation needed]}

Gallery

• 

  Two Craftsman claw hammers.

• 

  A selection of full-polish Craftsman combination wrenches.

• 

  A Craftsman tool chest.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "The New Alchemy At Sears". BusinessWeek. APRIL 16, 2007. http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_16/b4030071.htm. Retrieved 4 August 2011. 
2. ^ Smith, Hollie (2007-07-03). "Largest fastener distributor moves to Ottawa". The Times. http://mywebtimes.com/archives/ottawa/display.php?id=302046. Retrieved 2010-02-22. 
3. ^ "Sears to sell Craftsman tools at all Kmart stores". The Associated Press. 2006-09-14. http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/retail/2006-09-14-craftsman-kmart_x.htm. Retrieved 2010-02-22. 
4. ^ "Craftsman Tools Now Available At AAFES". Regulatory Intelligence Data. 2000-09-20. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-35955907.html. Retrieved 2010-02-22. 
5. ^ "The Craftsman Advantage". Craftsman.com. http://www.craftsman.com/craftsman-advantage/nb-100000000227040. Retrieved 2011-09-26. 
6. ^ "The Craftsman Brand Unveils the Ultimate Workshop with the Opening of the Craftsman Experience". Craftsman.com. 2010-08-24. http://www.craftsman.com/shc/s/nb_10155_12602_NB_News+Craftsman+Experience. Retrieved 2010-08-24. 
7. ^ "Craftsman 'BE' and H-Circle Series Tools". Alloy Artifacts. http://home.comcast.net/~alloy-artifacts/craftsman-be-hcircle.html. Retrieved 2010-02-22. 
8. ^ ^{a b} "A Tool Industry Timeline". Alloy Artifacts. http://home.comcast.net/~alloy-artifacts/tool-timeline.html. Retrieved 2010-03-27. 
9. ^ Campbell, W. Joseph (1988-10-15). "Stanley Earnings Grow 11% Despite Weak Construction Industry". The Hartford Courant. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/courant/access/80162400.html?FMT=ABS. Retrieved 2010-02-22. 
10. ^ Sweeney, Paul (1988-10-15). "Brothers Come of Age With New Bid". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1988/10/15/business/brothers-come-of-age-with-new-bid.html?pagewanted=2. Retrieved 2010-02-22. 
11. ^ "Sears tool work goes to Danaher". Chicago Tribune. 1991-06-18. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/24741125.html?FMT=CITE. Retrieved 2010-02-22. 
12. ^ Schmidt, Joanna (1992-06-25). "Western Forge employees celebrate honors from Sears/Company named best of 10,000 suppliers". Gazette Telegraph. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/gazette/access/246822741.html?dids=246822741:246822741&FMT=ABS. Retrieved 2010-03-27. 
13. ^ "Chamberlain Garage Door Opener | Click Away Remotes". http://www.aclickawayremotes.com/Chamberlain/index.html. Retrieved 2011-10-19. 
14. ^ "EquiTrend(R) Brand Study Rates Waterford Crystal Number One in Quality" (Press release). Harris Interactive. 2003-02-18. http://www2.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/02-18-2003/0001893329. Retrieved 2010-02-22. 
15. ^ "Hershey's Kisses Chocolate Candy Ranks No. 1 in Overall Brand Equity" (Press release). Harris Interactive. 2007-06-26. http://www2.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/06-26-2007/0004615944. Retrieved 2010-02-22. 
16. ^ "Craftsman(R) Named Favorite Hand Tools in Popular Mechanics Reader's Choice Awards". Sears Holdings Corporation. 2009-07-02. http://www2.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/07-02-2009/0005054092. Retrieved 2010-02-22. 
17. ^ "Craftsman(R) Tools: Now the Official Tools of DIY Network" (Press release). Sears Holdings Corporation. 2009-01-21. http://www.searsholdings.com/pubrel/pressOne.jsp?id=2009-01-21-0004958041. Retrieved 2010-02-19. 
18. ^ Sears Archives. "Craftsman: The Standard of Quality". http://www.searsarchives.com/brands/craftsman.htm. Retrieved 2010-03-03. 
19. ^ Joslin, Jeff (2010-02-26). "Craftsman - History". Old Wood-Working Machines. http://www.owwm.com/MfgIndex/detail.aspx?id=222. Retrieved 2010-03-03. 
20. ^ Duff, Mike (2009-04-08). "Sears, J.C. Penney Launch Post-Martha Home Collections". BNET. http://industry.bnet.com/retail/10001302/sears-jc-penney-launch-post-martha-home-collections/. Retrieved 2010-04-06. 
21. ^ Manfer, Sam (2010-04-06). "Good, Better, Best". Biz-Blog@SalesVantage. http://www.salesvantage.com/blogs/index.php/salesdog/sales-strategy/good-better-best. Retrieved 2010-04-06. 
22. ^ "Early Craftsman Tools and Their Makers". http://home.comcast.net/~alloy-artifacts/craftsman-early-tools-p3.html#dunlap. Retrieved 2010-04-06. 
23. ^ "Evolv trademark details". Boliven. http://www.boliven.com/trademark/77464696. Retrieved 2010-03-27. 
24. ^ Sears Holdings Corporation. "Evolv hand tool warranty". http://www.evolvtools.com/popin/warranty/. Retrieved 2010-03-03. 
25. ^ "Sears and Craftsman(R) Introduce Craftsman Club Rewards" (Press release). Sears Holdings Corporation. 2009-08-06. http://www2.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/08-06-2009/0005073055. Retrieved 2010-02-22. 
26. ^ Lamb, Robert (2001-01-18). "In search of the lifetime guarantee". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/columnist/lamb/0004.htm. Retrieved 2010-03-03. 
27. ^ Sears, Roebuck & Co.. "Why Craftsman?". Archived from the original on 2002-06-28. http://web.archive.org/web/20020628120323/http://www.sears.com/sr/craftsman/whyCraftsman/cr_wc_qualityproducts.jsp. Retrieved 2002-06-28. 
28. ^ Cage, Chuck (2006-08-08). "A Quick Comment on the Craftsman Lifetime Warranty". Toolmonger. http://toolmonger.com/2006/08/08/a-quick-comment-on-the-craftsman-lifetime-warranty/. Retrieved 2010-03-09. 
29. ^ Walters, Chris (2009-03-25). "Sears Clarifies Craftsman Tools Warranty". The Consumerist. http://consumerist.com/2009/03/sears-clarifies-craftsman-tools-warranty.html. Retrieved 2010-02-19. 
30. ^ ^{a b} "Warranty Information". Craftsman.com. http://www.craftsman.com/shc/s/nb_10155_12602_NB_CSwarranty. Retrieved 2010-12-19. 
31. ^ Popken, Ben (2007-03-19). "Clarification: Craftsman Lifetime Warranty Doesn't Apply To Rusty Tools". The Consumerist. http://consumerist.com/2007/03/clarification-craftsman-lifetime-warranty-doesnt-apply-to-rusty-tools.html. Retrieved 2010-03-09. 
32. ^ "Suit Hits Sears Made In USA Claim". ConsumerAffairs.com. 2004-12-08. http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/sears_craftsman.html. Retrieved 2008-10-22. 

External links

• Craftsman web site
• Evolv by Craftsman web site
• Sears Parts Direct
• Alloy Artifacts: "Early Craftsman Tools and Their Makers"
• Alloy Artifacts: "Craftsman 'BE' and H-Circle Series Tools"
• Alloy Artifacts: "Craftsman Tools: Maker 'V' and the Modern Era"
• Old Work-Working Machines: "Craftsman OEM List"
• Rose Antique Tools: Craftsman tool catalogues