We recently posted about how our local Home Depot stores seem to be pushing Klein Tools out on clearance, and how Lowe’s stores are prepping to receive them as part of their new retail partnership.

Klein Tools answered some questions we had about the matter, and about their future availability.

Thank you to Klein Tools for being open to discussing this. Following is what they said, with the key takeaways being my own interpretations:

Will any Klein Tools remain at Home Depot?

Yes, Klein Tools’ continues to value our relationship with The Home Depot as a distribution partner for Klein Tools. The Home Depot manages their own inventory and ultimately decides what products will be made available to Pros. While there will be a decrease in Klein’s overall presence, we will still have many products available in store and on The Home Depot’s website.

Key Takeaway: Many select Klein tools will still be available at Home Depot stores, and you can also buy the brand’s tools at Home Depot’s website.

How extensive of a Klein Tools lineup can we expect to see at Lowe’s now, and in the future?

When everything is set, Lowe’s will have the largest in-store selection of Klein Tools nationwide. From Big Box exclusives like the MODbox mobile work station, Personal Protection Equipment and many core Made in USA SKUs, customers will be able to find all the tools they love, as well as hundreds of new innovative products.

Key Takeaway: Lowe’s will have the largest in-store selection, as well as specific exclusives.

When will the initial Klein introduction at Lowe’s be completed?

Klein Tools will be rolled out in all Lowe’s Prozones in late August and then there will be a continuous flow of product into the stores in the electrical, tools and personal protection equipment aisles throughout Q4 and into 2024.

Key Takeaway: The kickoff at Lowe’s will begin soon and continue in coming months.

Why is Klein leaving Home Depot after 14 years of exclusivity? (I understand if this one cannot be answered.)

The demand for Klein Tools has never been higher. Our customers needed more products available to them at more locations. With our expansion into Lowe’s, we are making more Klein Tools available to all contractor trades.

Over time, Lowe’s and Lowes.com will stock the broadest assortment of nearly 2,000 unique Klein Tools products ranging from the brand’s iconic lineman’s pliers and other hand tools, a full line of personal protection equipment, as well as Klein Tools’ all-new mobile MODBox storage system.

These look to be exciting times for Klein Tools.

I particularly like this part – “as well as hundreds of new innovative products.”

Read Also:

Home Depot Dumps Klein Tools with Huge Clearance Sale
Lowe’s is Clearing out Ideal Tools to Make Room for Klein

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I visited a couple of Lowe’s stores recently, looking to see if a particular batch of new tools came in yet (they haven’t), and was met with some Halloween decorations at each entrance.

There’s a giant scarecrow with a scythe, and an animatronic skeleton that plays a “I Love Halloween” to the tune of “I Love Rock and Roll” by the Arrows (and made popular by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts).

I must admit – I found this to be ridiculous at first. These Lowe’s stores were all still selling patio furniture and grills, and in front of all of that – Halloween decorations in July.

But… I kind of like the idea.

Oh, I’m not buying Halloween decorations anytime soon, but it made me smile.

The skeleton was motion or proximity-activated, and it constantly attracted and held the attention of a lot of people as they walked into the store.

Because of where the display was positioned right in front of the store, the tune carried. I didn’t tire of hearing the song every time customers came in and walked up to the display, but I feel for the workers at the returns and customer service desk.

There’s a sound and video clip on the Lowe’s product page, although you can’t buy it there yet, if you want a quick chuckle (or eyeroll).

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From news reports, it seems that Apex Tool Group was close to being sold to another company. Or at least, their parent company had attempted to sell the collection of tool brands more than a year ago.

Apex Tool Group (ATG) owns a number of tool brands, with Gearwrench and Crescent perhaps being the most widely recognized. Other ATG brands include Jacobs, Weller, and Cleco.

ATG is owned by Bain Capital, a private investment firm that owns many brands, such as Bob’s Discount Furniture and Valeo foods.

According to news reports in mid-2021, Bain Capital was considering a sale of ATG, with the value estimated to be 2 to 2.5 billion dollars.

Later in the year, a potential buyer was identified and it was reported that:

Talks are still ongoing and other bidders remain interested in the asset, the people said.

However, in late 2021, it emerged that the potential buyer, Wanxiang Group, declined to pursue sale of the company and its tool brands. In this article, they say:

Apex’s inability to generate a material amount of earnings hampers recovery in key debt metrics, the ratings agency said in the report, adding that the owner Bain was unlikely to infuse much-needed cash so that debtholders could be made whole and Apex’s looming maturity profile could be solved.

Additional reporting came out in early 2022, with Bloomberg Law saying the sale of Apex Tool Group hit a snag over valuation.

Apex Tool Group made big changes in recent years, essentially whittling down and consolidating their portfolio. It’s difficult to say what the motivations were, but we’ll discuss them all the same.

In 2017, ATG moved many of their tool brands under the Crescent brand name. Wiss was no longer just Wiss, it was Crescent Wiss. Lufkin became Crescent Lufkin, and similar branding changes took place across the board. All of ATG’s construction-related brands were absorbed into Crescent.

Some of Crescent’s companion brands were unchanged, such as Gearwrench, Weller (soldering tools), Cleco (fastening tools), and others.

In early 2017, news reports about ATG layoffs suggested the brand was permanently closing down their Armstrong and Allen tool brands. By 2019, the company had eliminated the iconic brands and started redirecting interested consumers to Gearwrench and Crescent.

Here is what Apex Tool Group’s portfolio looked like a few years ago.

See Also: Tool Brands: Who Owns What?

Here is what ATG’s list of tool brands looks like today. There’s Weller, Sata, Campbell, Cleco, Gearwrench, Apex, Crescent, and Jacobs.

Xcelite and Erem have been absorbed into Weller, similar to how Wiss, Lufkin, and others are now part of Crescent.

From 31 brands, there are now just 8.

These consolidations are smart moves, whether done for marketing purposes, or perhaps to neatly package the brands for potential sale in whole or in parts.

A couple of the brands seem to have been eliminated, such as Plumb. This is not unprecedented; KD Tools was fully absorbed into Gearwrench around a decade ago.

ATG’s biggest brands, Crescent and Gearwrench, have enjoyed increased visibility at major retailers, and I would think the consolidation helps with this.

Crescent tools have appeared at Home Depot the past two holiday seasons in a row, starting with promotional pliers displays. Gearwrench has also been increasingly visible at Home Depot stores since around 2021 as well.

Crescent tools are also available at Lowe’s stores, although their pliers look to be exclusive to Home Depot.

ATG’s largest consumer brands have remained active. Gearwrench recently launched new lower-priced “limited edition” tool sets, and crescent has been dipping their toes in the power tools accessory market.

Tool brand sales, acquisitions, and closures hit us by surprise a lot of the time. Were there signs that Bain Capital was looking to sell Apex Tool Group? Are they still in talks with potential buyers?

It will be interesting to see what happens over the next couple of years, and if Apex Tool Group is eventually sold or not.

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EGO and John Deere have announced a new partnership, where EGO-branded cordless outdoor power tools and equipment will be sold through John Deere dealers.

Additionally, Chervon, EGO’s parent company, and John Deere have announced that they will “collaborate on future product development.”

As part of the agreement, EGO’s complete range of cordless mowers, blowers, trimmers, edging tools, chainsaws, and snow blowers will be available at John Deere dealers in the USA and Canada, starting in Fall 2023.

EGO provided the statement as part of their announcement:

We are thrilled to join forces with John Deere to bring our best-in-class battery platform to even more customers. This partnership represents a significant milestone in our commitment to revolutionize the outdoor power equipment industry and provide sustainable solutions without compromise to consumers all across North America.

In their own announcement, John Deere says:

Simplifying the landscape management of properties is what drives us every day. We seek to provide our customers with a broad range of tools, which will now include a battery ecosystem that can be extended into a variety of property care solutions.

Partnering with a leading electric solutions brand, like EGO, to provide top-quality battery-powered equipment will propel both John Deere and Chervon into a stronger market position to serve our evolving customers.

EGO added this in their press communications:

We will continue to drive platform growth, product innovation and platform expansion in both Residential and Commercial market segments and look forward to continued growth together.

This is all good news for end users, as it broadens the reach and availability of EGO cordless outdoor tools and equipment.

The news about the brands collaborating on “future new product development” is also very exciting. I wonder what we’ll see born from this partnership.

EGO products will continue to be available through Lowe’s, Ace Hardware, and other authorized dealers.

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Knipex has launched a new smartphone app which they says “brings the world of Knipex right to your fingertips.”

The new Knipex app will feature resources such as a “pliers finder for professionals” and help you
find the right tool for a specific application – whether on the jobsite or the road.”

According to Knipex press materials, the app also has a KNIPEXplorer product finder, for selecting the right pipe cutter or crimping tools based on user input about the application and materials used.

There will also be an augmented reality function where you can view the pliers in three dimensions and “place them anywhere in your environment.”

Additional features include a wishlist and “where to buy?” function that gives you a list of online and in-store retailers.

Personally I’m not a fan of apps that mostly duplicate web functionality – can’t you do most of this except maybe the AR feature via the Knipex website? – but it seem like an interesting development that’s worth discussing.

But, it can sometimes be difficult to navigate tool brands’ websites. Maybe this app will make it easier to match the right Knipex tools to specific tasks.

Here’s the launch video:

What do you think – is this something you’d find useful?

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Bosch has announced that the AmpShare cordless power tool alliance is coming to North America.

The AmpShare system is built on top of Bosch’s existing 18V platform, and was founded by Bosch, Fein, and Rothenberger with the goal of “simplify the jobsite.” AmpShare will power multiple brands’ cordless power tools with the same 18V batteries.

In addition to these 3 founding brands, 12 partner brands will be launching AmpShare-compatible products in 2023 and 2024. These brands are Honsel, Ledlenser, Mato, Medmix Cox, MK, Orgapack, Signode, PerfectPro, Steinel, Bosch Rexroth Corp, Titan, and Wagner.

AmpShare was announced several months ago in Europe, and so this news has not come as a complete surprise.

For Bosch users, nothing is changing to their existing 18V tool and battery compatibility. AmpShare tools and batteries will work with all of your existing Bosch 18V gear.

Fein has said that they are sunsetting their existing tools and moving to AmpShare-compatibility exclusively; all new Fein cordless power tools will be AmpShare-compatible. They will support their existing 18V platform such as with replacement batteries for the next 5-7 years.

Rothenberger will be releasing AmpShare-compatible cordless power tools in the USA, and will be offering both AmpShare and CAS-compatible tools in Europe. CAS is a competing battery alliance based on Metabo’s 18V battery system.

The first new products will be launching soon, with an ETA of June/July 2023. Rothenberger has said that they will be launching 10-15 items with the first arriving in Spring 2023.

Bosch is an all-around cordless power tool brand, Fein specializes in their MultiMaster oscillating multi-tool, and Rothenberger specializes in pipe joining, installation, and maintenance tools. The 12 other partnering brands bring their own specialties to the group.

This has the potential to be a highly impactful move.

Fein, for example, is well-known for their metalworking tools and wet/dry dust extractors. Hypothetically, powered-by-Bosch AmpShare 18V cordless versions of the Fein Turbo vacuums and Slugger metal-cutting saws could especially boost both brands’ competitiveness.

AmpShare looks to be a great move for Bosch 18V tool users, Bosch, Fein, Rothenberger, and the other participating brands.

A common battery is a great move, and I’d say that AmpShare holds even greater potential if partnering brands combine and share know-how.

In my opinion, the key to AmpShare’s success in the USA and North America will rely on its visibility.

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Stanley Black & Decker has reworked their Hand and Power Tool Brand Positioning chart for the first time since at least 2017.

The company, which owns Craftsman, Dewalt, and other popular tool brands, featured the updated chart in their recent May 2023 Investor Presentation.

The chart is not necessarily to be taken at face value, and is more of a rough guide as to how Stanley Black & Decker sees the various tool brands positioned relative to each other.

Keep in mind that the Investor Presentation is a corporate document that’s not created for tool users. Still, I always find these things to be interesting and insightful.

Here, we’ll take a look at the new chart to see what has changed.

The way I interpret these charts, the left of the brand name represents the start of the segment coverage bar.

To start, Stanley Black & Decker expanded the target user segments slightly.

The Consumer segment has become Consumer and DIY, and the Tradesman segment has become Tradesman and Advanced DIY. The Professional and Automotive/Industrial segments remain unchanged.

The OPP (opening price point), MPP (mid price point) and HPP (high price point) tiers also remain unchanged.

Let’s take a look at how Stanley Black & Decker repositioned their tool brands.

Black & Decker – The iconic beginner DIYer and household tool brand hasn’t budged from the consumer segment, with the only change being a refreshed logo.

Craftsman – Whereas the Craftsman brand spanned most of the length of the chart, from consumer to automotive/industrial, it is now centered in the tradesman and advanced DIY segment.

Additionally, the Craftsman brand was bumped down slightly, from slightly above the MPP level to right on it.

Craftsman’s segment range is much tighter than before, suggesting that Stanley Black & Decker has reevaluated their core target audience since first adding the brand to their chart in 2017.

The short segment width is not exactly representative of Craftsman’s full line, as I would argue the Craftsman V-Series tools extend the brand into professional and even automotive/industrial segments.

Dewalt – The bar for Dewalt, Stanley Black & Decker’s premier cordless power tool and jobsite storage brand, has expanded slightly, and now more noticeably reaches into the tradesman segment.

Dewalt’s product catalog does span tradesman, professional, and automotive/industrial segments, making the latest positioning a more accurate representation.

Stanley – Stanley’s bar spans from the tradesman and advanced DIY segment and into the professional space. Curiously, the bar for Stanley pulls back slightly from the professional segment, but not by a lot. They also swapped spots with Craftsman with respect to relative pricing tiers.

Stanley FatMax – Stanley FatMax is no longer included on Stanley Black & Decker’s brand positioning chart.

Stanley Black & Decker confirmed that support for the Stanley FatMax sub-brand has not changed.

Bostitch – Bostitch is no longer included on the brand positioning chart, but is still featured on the Tools & Outdoor brand slide in Stanley Black & Decker’s presentation. This is perhaps because, especially compared to their sibling brands’ broader product offerings, Bostitch has become more of a specialized brand, with a focus on air and fastening tools.

Porter Cable – Porter Cable, which announced an exclusive partnership with Tractor Supply in 2021, remains on the chart – surprisingly. The brand previously spanned tradesman and professional segments and now only sits over the tradesman and advanced DIY segment. Additionally, the bar has shifted slightly to the left, a bit towards the consumer and DIY segment.

Irwin – Irwin’s bar has increased and been shifted upwards. Rather than being placed as an entry to mid price point brand, Irwin now sits above the mid price point line, above Craftsman and Stanley, but still below Dewalt.

The bar for Irwin has also shifted to the right, slightly away from tradesman and advanced DIY segment and more towards the professional segment.

Lenox – Lenox has also shifted a bit, and is now centered over the professional user segment. Interestingly, Lenox has moved above Dewalt in the price point scale.

Proto, Mac Tools, Facom – These three brands’ positions are largely unchanged, except for Proto and Facom swapping places with respect to price point.

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Makita USA is putting into effect a “company-wide reduction in force,” and has filed notices of mass layoffs with multiple states.

According to the public documents (linked-to below), a total of 213 employees will be affected by the layoffs.

The positions and job titles vary, and include service technicians, warehouse jobs, design and marketing jobs, sales jobs, territory managers, customer service representatives, retail sales reps, and others.

The company-wide layoffs affect a number of service centers around the country, 3 distribution centers, Makita USA’s corporate headquarters in La Mirada, California, a customer service office in Nevada, and an office and distribution center in Georgia.

According to the letter Makita USA issued to affected associates, copies of which have been provided to state governments, the layoffs are set to go in effect on June 28, 2023. Affected associates were notified on April 28, 2023.

There will be at least one facility closure. A notice provided to the state of Oregon describes the permanent closure of a Makita USA factory service center in that state.

We have not been able to learn whether the other service technician layoffs are also related to facility closures, as not all states’ WARN notices are publicly posted.

Makita USA’s top rivals in North America have also cut jobs this year. Milwaukee announced a closure in February and Stanley Black & Decker, Dewalt’s parent company, closed their Craftsman hand tool factory before its products appeared at stores.

It is unfortunate when any jobs are cut, and we hope for the best for everyone affected.

Affected Jobs by Location

Factory Service Centers in MA, NV, CA, OR, FL, TX: 31 jobs
Distribution Centers in CA, IL, TX: 51 jobs
California Corporate Office: 49 jobs + 19 jobs by out of state workers
Reno Distribution Center and Customer Service Office: 5 jobs
Georgia Distribution Center and offices: 22 jobs + 36 jobs by out of state workers

Total: 213

Learn More: Notice of Layoffs (PDF via Oregon Rapid Response Activity Tracking System)

Makita’s Business Performance for the Year Ending on March 31, 2023

Makita prices in the USA have increased in April 2022, October 2022, and most recently at the start of May 2023.

Makita’s notice to employees at their soon-to-be-closed service center in Oregon reads:

This notice is being provided to you to provide you with notice of layoff as a result of a Company-wide reorganization and reduction in force made necessary by the Company’s current financial condition.

We dug into Makita’s financial reporting to see if it could help explain this or shed light in “the company’s current financial condition.”

In their April 27, 2023 financial filing in Japan, Makita notes that “sales were sluggish in Europe and North America.” With respect to revenue:

In North America, while sales decreased as stay-at-home demand subsided and monetary tightening created wariness of a recession, [consolidated] revenue increased 6.1% year on year to 119,064 million yen due to the depreciation of the yen against local currencies.

For the year ending March 31, 2023, Makita’s North America segment reported total revenue of 125 billion yen (~$928 million), and a loss of 912 million yen (~$6.77 million).

For the same period, Makita reported total consolidated revenue of 765 billion yen (~$5.67 billion) and a total consolidated profit of 28.2 billion yen (~$209 million).

So while Makita reported a total profit for the year, their North America segment reported a loss.

Here is what Makita reported for their North America segment over the past 5 years:

FYE March 31, 2019: 267 million yen (~$1.98 million) PROFIT
FYE March 31, 2020: 201 million yen (~$1.49 million) LOSS
FYE March 31, 2021: 3,681 million yen (~$27.3 million) PROFIT
FYE March 31, 2022: 803 million yen (~$5.96 million) PROFIT
FYE March 31, 2023: 912 million yen (~$6.77 million) LOSS

All dollar amounts are converted using 5/5/23 rate of 134.80 yen to 1 USD.

Learn More: Makita 2022 Financial Results (PDF)

Makita USA has not issued any public statements about this matter.

Thank you Daniel for sharing this news with us.

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My local Lowe’s store has updated their front end with new self-checkout stations, a move I wasn’t sure was ever going to happen.

A nearby Home Depot store did the same last year.

I have had frustrations with this particular Lowe’s checkout lines in the past, and how long the wait could be.

I typically prefer to checkout with a cashier, at the least out of habit. For a few years I usually shopped with my kids, and it was always difficult to spare both hands and my full attention to scan things myself.

Plus, self checkout lines are often slowed down by people who aren’t sure of what they’re doing, or don’t read or heed signs and instructions.

When a checkout station says “card-only,” no, you can’t pay with cash!

The registers in the photo above only accept payment cards, and in my opinion the “card only” signs aren’t noticeable enough to catch the attention of cash-paying customers.

Whereas my local Home Depot has a single line for multiple registers, Lowe’s went in a different direction, with a couple of banks of registers which will presumably each have their own lines.

My go-to Home Depot store usually has the same number of cashers as before, and they help people across a greater number of checkout stations.

This Lowe’s location had a single associate at the checkout station, although the store wasn’t busy. On a regular day, before this shift to self-checkout, the store might have only had one checkout stations open at the same time.

There is still a manned register at the far end of the store, at the Pro checkout area.

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Another Makita price increase just went into effect, as of May 1, 2023.

The Makita XGT 40V Max rear-handle circular saw kit, GSR01M1, which was recently on sale for $299, went from being regularly priced at $399 to $449.

Similarly, the 2-tool cordless hammer drill and impact driver combo kit, GT200D, which was recently on sale for $349, increased from $449 to $469.

The Makita XGT 2-battery HEPA dust extractor, GCV02ZU, was $699 and is now $749.

The 18V 2-tool combo kit, XT288T, was $399 and is now $419. There also looks to be a new promo where you get a free 2-pack of 5Ah batteries. So, compared to last month, you’re spending $20 more but getting bonus batteries.

The GSA01 cordless blower/duster went from $179 to $194.

Makita USA raised their prices last April, and again in October. Some of the price increases since then have been quite steep.

The GSL04M1 XGT cordless miter saw was $1,299 last September, then $1,399, and now $1,499. I didn’t note the price prior to last year’s first increase.

All of the models I noticed having increased in price in October have increased again.

For example, the GT400M1D1 4pc combo kit was regularly priced at $649 last September, then increased to $699, and is now $739.

I have not yet found examples of Makita cordless power tools that were not affected by the recent increase. It looks like there are higher prices across the board, but there could be exclusions.

Let’s hope that Makita’s latest price increase is the only one of 2023.

Some stores have not yet updated their pricing.

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Stanley Black & Decker and the US CPSC have issued a recall for 2.2 million Dewalt, Craftsman, and Stanley fiberglass hammers and sledgehammers.

According to the recall notice, the head of affected hammers can loosen and prematurely detach, posing an impact injury hazard.

The recall affects sledgehammers and mini sledgehammer-type hammers, such as drilling and engineer hammers.

Here is a list of all of the affected models:

Recalled Dewalt Hammers

• DWHT56141 – 2lb Fiberglass Drilling Hammer
• DWHT56142 – 3lb Fiberglass Drilling Hammer
• DWHT56143 – 2-1/2 lb Fiberglass Engineering Hammer
• DWHT56146 – 2-1/2 lb Fiberglass Blacksmith Hammer
• DWHT56147 – 4lb Fiberglass Blacksmith Hammer
• DWHT56148 – 4lb Fiberglass Engineering Hammer
• DWHT56024 – 4lb Drilling Sledgehammer – hollow handle
• DWHT56025 – 4lb BS Sledgehammer – hollow handle
• DWHT56026 – 4lb ENG Sledgehammer – hollow handle
• DWHT56027 – 6lb Sledgehammer – hollow handle
• DWHT56029 – 10lb Sledge 36″Hammer – hollow handle
• DWHT56030 – 12lb Sledgehammer – hollow handle

Recalled Craftsman Hammers

• CMHT54163 – 4 LB Engineering Hammer
• CMHT56006 – 3 LB Drilling Hammer
• CMHT56011 – 8 LB Sledgehammer
• CMHT56019 – 10 LB Sledgehammer

Recalled Stanley Hammers

• FMHT51297 – 4 LB Engineer Hammer
• FMHT51298 – 4 LB Blacksmith Hammer
• FMHT51308 – 3 LB Drilling Hammer
• FMHT56006 – 3 LB Drilling Hammer
• FMHT56008 – 4 LB Blacksmith Hammer
• FMHT56009 – 4 LB Engineer Hammer
• FMHT56010 – 6 LB FATMAX Sledgehammer
• FMHT56011 – 8 LB FATMAX Sledgehammer
• FMHT56019 – 10 LB FATMAX Sledgehammer

Recall Details and Remedy

There have been 192 reports of hammer or sledgehammer heads detaching from their handles, with 2 injuries reported.

These hammers were sold from November 2013 thru November 2022 at Home Depot, Ace Hardware, hardware stores nationwide, and online retailers such as Amazon.

Users should stop using the recalled sledgehammers and contact Stanley Black & Decker for a full refund.

Learn More: Recall 23-183 via US CPSC
Learn More: Stanley Black & Decker Recall Page

To request a refund, complete the form at Dewalt, Craftsman, or Stanley websites, or call them toll-free at 855-418-3032 from 8am to 6pm Monday thru Friday.

The refund process requires a photo of your hammer with “RECALLED” written across it in permanent marker. If you cannot do this, you can ship the tool back to them with a prepaid label. See the recall forms for more details.

Thank you Fred for the heads-up!

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Temu is a relatively new online marketplace, where they sell non-branded and generic “factory direct” products at incredibly low prices.

If you try to look at the website or their products on your phone, it repeatedly prompts you to install the app.

According to news reports, more than 50 million Americans have downloaded the Temu app since September 2022. Every couple of weeks, that number gets higher and higher.

On a desktop computer or laptop, the page uses just about every psychological retail marketing trick there is.

For the wire cutters shown in the screenshot, there are pop-up overlays anytime someone adds the item to their cart or a logged-in member is currently viewing it.

There’s a Bonus Coupons countdown. Click it and a spinner comes up that promises you more savings and discounts once you install the app on your phone.

There’s a Mother’s Day free shipping on all orders countdown. Sorry, two countdowns.

There’s a “Hurry!” message that tells you how many people have this in their carts, and it alternates with an “In Demand” message that tells you how many they sold in the past 24 hours.

“Temu is committed to environmental sustainability.”

Free returns within 90 days. They make a strong case of purchases being risk-free.

There’s a 20% off offer popping out from the right side of the browser.

Temu doesn’t have a lot of tools yet, but they do have some, and it’s likely they will continue to expand their selection.

Temu sells products that appear to violate US laws, such as realistic-looking toy blasters that are shown without mandated orange tips. This gives me cause for concern. What about regulations regarding lead or other heavy metals in toys and kitchen items?

You know the no-name tools and accessories you can find on Amazon for cheap? Temu has them for half the price and free international shipping.

Temu has a mini stubby Phillips screwdriver for 88 cents, including what appears to be free international shipping.

On Amazon, a generic company “Buspoll” has a Phillips and slotted 2pc set for $7 with Prime shipping. So that’s less than $2 on Temu for both screwdrivers, compared to $7 on Amazon, which is still a lot cheaper than you can find for similar from better-established brands.

Temu says the item will arrive by May 3rd. If it doesn’t, they’ll give you a $5 credit.

I cannot find anything on Temu’s website with a bad rating or review. For the products that don’t have any verified customer reviews, Temu shows positive 4+ star “shop reviews” for the store or seller.

Temu has been experiencing a surge in popularity lately, and has been in the news repeatedly. On one hand, I can see why. On the other hand, the direct-ship online retailer doesn’t seem that much different from existing companies like Dealextreme and Alibaba.

What’s better about Temu?

On their “About” page, Temu says they were founded in Boston in 2022. Temu is a subsidiary of PDD Holdings, which is based in China. According to news reports, most Temu products are made in China.

Temu is advertising affiliate programs where you can earn up to $100,000 per month, free product influencer programs, and are recruiting “campus ambassadors” so that college students can get their friends to join.

If you haven’t heard about Temu before now, you will soon, as the people in you life add to their growing number of app users and shoppers.

What’s your thoughts on Temu? What might you buy or avoid from a store like this?

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Nearly a year ago, Lowe’s entered the metaverse, with digital assets and NFTs. Now, according to their Innovation Labs website, Lowe’s is testing new augmented reality (AR) technologies to help support the efforts of their store associates.

Lowe’s Store Digital Twin project is described as giving associates superpowers to better serve customers.

Lowe’s is leveraging Nvidia Omniverse technology, and created an industry-first interactive replica of Lowe’s stores that showcases a future in which AI and XR are part of their associates’ daily lives.

The are building toward a future in which their associates can visualize and interact with nearly all of a store’s digital data, thanks to the digital twin.

The digital twin stores fuse spatial data with product location, historical information, and data from advanced in-store sensors.

This technology is currently live in two [Lowe’s] stores, where their associates can not only visualize and interface with a Lowe’s store in 3D, but can interact with nearly all of a store’s data in new ways, across a range of devices.

Visuals show associates wearing Magic Leap 2 augmented reality headsets. The interactivity enabled by the digital store and AR tech “opens up numerous possibilities for Lowe’s associates.”

Lowe’s gives an example where the AR headsets allow associates to “see a hologram of the digital twin overlaid atop the physical store in augmented reality. This can help an associate compare what a store shelf should look like versus what it actually looks like, and make sure it’s stocked with the right products in the right configurations.”

The AR headsets will also provide a non-literal “X-Ray Vision” where associates can “view information on obscured items on hard-to-reach shelves.” In other words, they can view information without having to climb a ladder to read or peek inside a cardboard carton.

With an AR headset and the digital twin, the associate could look up at a partially obscured cardboard box from ground level, and, thanks to computer vision and Lowe’s inventory application programming interfaces (APIs), determine and view its contents via an AR overlay.

Lowe’s says the tech allows allows for store visualizations and optimization.

Just as e-commerce sites gather analytics to optimize the customer shopping experience online, the digital twin enables new ways of viewing sales performance and customer traffic data to optimize the in-store experience using 3D heatmaps and distance measurements of items frequently bought together.

The tech also allows for simulations, where they can use historical order and product location data with “AI avatars to simulate how far customers or associates might need to walk to pick up items often bought together.”

Nvidia’s promo video advertises that their collaboration with Lowe’s is “reinventing retail.” The video presents a brief and interesting technical overview:

There’s a lot of power in this type of technology, and it will be interesting to see if Lowe’s expands the Store Digital Twin concept to more stores.

There’s also the question as to whether any of this will eventually benefit Lowe’s store associates or customers in significant ways.

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Craftsman will be discontinuing operations at their Fort Worth, Texas facility, where they were working to produce new USA-made hand tools.

Stanley Black & Decker announced the new 425,000 square foot factory in mid-2019, where they planned to produce Craftsman mechanics hand tools, including ratchets, wrenches, sockets, and tool sets.

In late-2022, Craftsman said that the factory was open, operating, and producing tools.

In a conversation I had today with a Craftsman executive, I was told that they expect for the factory to be closed by mid-2024.

Why is Craftsman Closing the New Factory?

Three years ago, Craftsman teased that something new was “chroming soon” and that new USA-made mechanics tools and sets were on the way.

A lot has happened since then, with the pandemic and supply chain issues severely impacting many industries.

When Stanley Black & Decker first announced their plans, they said the new Craftsman hand tool factory would leverage some of the most advanced manufacturing technologies available to optimize productivity and sustainability.

I was told today that the success of the plant required innovative solutions and new-to-world processes to all come together consistently.

They hoped to overcome numerous obstacles, but ultimately could not.

According to the official announcement, this and other actions taken by the company are “designed to deliver $2 billion of cost savings and are reflective of current economic conditions.”

What About the Tools Already Produced?

I was told that tools produced at the Fort Worth facility will be available for sale at existing distributors. Once those tools sell out, they will not be replenished.

What Does this Mean for USA-Made Craftsman Tools?

While this is obviously a major and disappointing setback, Craftsman insists they remain committed to USA production. They strive to “produce as much here as humanly possible.”

Additional News

Stanley Black & Decker is also transferring operations from their Cheraw, South Carolina facility, to their facilities in Jackson and Gallatin, Tennessee.

According to their website, key products made at this factory include Dewalt and Stanley Black & Decker saws, tape measures, and tool boxes.

The transfer of Cheraw, South Carolina operations will affect 182 employees, with 80 jobs added in Tennessee, and the discontinuation of operations at Fort Worth, Texas will impact 175 employees. Stanley Black & Decker says they are focused on providing a smooth transition and support services for affected employees.

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Milwaukee Tool will be closing their Clinton, Mississippi facility later this year.

The Clinton facility was only in operation for a short time, and was first announced in 2021.

According to news reports, efforts are being made to move affected employees to Milwaukee Tool’s other Mississippi locations.

Upon request, Milwaukee Tool provided the following statement:

We’ve recently made the decision to transition operations out of our Clinton facility and relocate these activities to our other facilities, thus improving the overall performance of our supply chain. Despite this difficult decision, we remain confident in our ongoing success and future growth. In the last 5 years we have invested more than $702 million in our U.S. operations, and we have grown our employee population across the country by over 180%. We proudly employ more than 10,000 people in the U.S., and over 4,000 are in Mississippi. The State of Mississippi remains a critical partner for our operations as we continue to deliver innovative solutions to our users and distributor partners.

I asked for additional information, to better understand the context and implications, and was told the following:

We’re going to be making use out of the available space at other facilities when transferring Clinton’s activities.

The close of the plant will take until Q4. Unfortunately, 150 employees are impacted. We’re developing support options for them, as well as working on opportunities for them to move to one of our other locations.

Milwaukee made it very clear that the decision to close the Clinton facility is not a reflection of poor performance, but an effort to maximize efficiency across their domestic operational footprint.

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On TikTok, .feralbruja posted a video clip (embedded below) of what appears to be a Dalek-shaped security robot patrolling outside of a Philadelphia-area Lowe’s.

Have you seen security droids outside your Lowe’s store yet?

A closer look reveals the robot to be a Knightscope K5, which is equipped with 360° video, 16 microphones, 4 cameras, LIDAR, sonar, GPS, text-to-speech capabilities, and speakers that play music.

Knightscope specializes in autonomous security, with pricing estimates of $0.75 to $9 an hour across their product range.

Knightscope’s autonomous security robots (ASR) are described as always trained and on time, always on their best behavior, and they follow orders consistently. Humans? Inconsistent.

Knightscope is cheeky on social media as well as on their website, with phrases such as “We LOVE humans…” in a section about public response.

Knightscope… they love humans, and humans love them! The image of a person hugging the robot comes from their careers page.

It is unclear if the robot spotted at Lowe’s is part of a trial run or limited contract.

The company announced in November 2022 that they had tripled their annualized revenue. They have been also landing new contracts and announcing new activations across the country.

If you haven’t seen one of these robots yet, you just might sometime soon.

Skynet could not be reached for comment.

Here is the video:

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Lowe’s and Klein Tools have announced a new partnership that will “bring a significant presence for the iconic tool brand to the electrical and tool departments at Lowe’s.”

The new partnership will allow Lowe’s to “offer the widest selection of Klein Tools products anywhere in the home improvement retail channel.”

Klein Tools products will launch at Lowe’s stores and their website starting in the second half of 2023.

There will be “premium store placements across multiple product categories.”

The initial rollout will include hand tools and electrical test and measurement tools. This will be followed by a “multi-year rollout of new product innovations.”

Lowe’s executive vice president of merchandising, Bill Boltz, commented:

The addition of Klein will help drive excitement and traffic among Pro customers looking for market-tested innovation from a brand they trust.

According to press materials, the new partnership and product offerings keeps Lowe’s “true to their commitment to be a true business partner for Pros.”

Klein Tools’ President and COO, Thomas Klein Jr, adds:

This partnership with Lowe’s enables us to serve Pros with our wide array of products, including innovative new products designed to make work on the job easier, safer and more efficient.

The new partnership effectively ends Home Depot and Klein Tools’ exclusivity arrangement of more than 13-1/2 years. Home Depot has been the “sole home improvement retailer” for Klein tools since mid-2009.

Discussion

Wow, I did not see this coming!

Lowe’s and Klein announced that they are “teaming up” to bring the “widest selection of Klein Tools anywhere in the home improvement retail channel.” In other words, this means a greater selection of Klein Tools products at Lowe’s than what you can find at Home Depot. That sounds good to me!

As Home Depot lost their exclusivity, does this mean they’ll now shop around for other brands, similar to what they did with EGO? It will be interesting to see what Home Depot’s response will be – if any. From what I have seen, no other brand offers as comprehensive a selection of electrical hand tools and accessories as Klein.

Another interesting takeaway is that there will be “premium store placement across multiple product categories.” This also seems like great news for Klein and tool users alike.

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As we reported the other day, Home Depot stopped selling Estwing hammers. However, there aren’t gaping holes on the shelves; there are other tools already in their place.

It looks like Home Depot completely purged Estwing products from their stores and website, suggesting to me that there’s a lot more to this story. However, more information is not yet available.

I asked Estwing, and a customer service rep replied that they don’t believe Home Depot is selling their products anymore.

I tend to take snapshots of interesting tools and trends when browsing the aisles at home centers and tool stores. Most of the photos of Estwing tools in this post were taken in 2021 or 2022, making them at most around 2 years old.

In this post, let’s take a look at the Estwing tools that used to be sold at Home Depot until recently, and the tools that replaced some of them.

But first, here’s something interesting and potentially relevant.

Estwing’s 22oz steel-handled hammer is no longer available at Home Depot stores or online, but I found this Ox Tools 22oz framing hammer listing on Home Depot’s website.

The Ox hammer isn’t available in stores, but there are exactly 5,000 units available for shipping right now. Large numbers like this, or patterns, such as 10 products each with 150 units in stock, usually suggest that Home Depot recently received a new shipment.

A lot of framing hammers have similar designs, but I found this to be curious.

5000 units x $24.98 is nearly $125,000 in Ox 22oz smooth-face framing hammers inventory. They also have exactly 600 units of the milled face version.

Meaning, it looks like Home Depot just started selling Ox Tools framing hammers.

The Ox hammers aren’t emphasized on Home Depot’s website, and are lower in their on-site search results, suggesting that could merely be a coincidence.

Delving deeper, it looks like Home Depot added many new online-only Ox listings beyond hammers and striking tools, weakening the chances of correlation. Even so, it raised an eyebrow and seemed potentially relevant to bring up.

Finding Ox Tools listings at Home Depot surprised me, as I thought the brand had been developing ties with Lowe’s. As the saying goes, you cannot dance at two weddings at the same time, at least not unless you’re a top-tier brand such as Dewalt. Even then, you will rarely find the same Dewalt tools at both Home Depot and Lowe’s.

As for Home Depot’s in-store product selections, I have been seeing an increasing number of new Crescent hammers. Could these have taken Estwing’s place?

That’s possible, but the new Crescent hammers started appearing a couple of months ago, when there were still plenty of Estwing tools still at Home Depot stores.

Most notably, there are new anti-vibe and wood-handled Crescent framing hammers.

I first noticed Crescent’s new steel-handled framing hammer this past November, and their wood-handled framing hammer a little earlier.

In this photo from about 2 years ago, you can see there are Estwing drilling, engineer, and mini sledge hammers on the pegboard wall at Home Depot.

The steel-handled Estwing shown here was made in the USA, and the others were made overseas. At the time of this posting, you can find the USA-made version at Amazon for $30, and the imported fiberglass-handled hammer for $20.

Now? The Home Depot store I checked had a single Milwaukee Tool drilling hammer and a large selection of Crescent drilling and engineer hammers.

It seems that Crescent’s drilling and engineer hammers are new-to-market products.

The Milwaukee drilling or engineer hammer isn’t new – I first spotted them in-stores back in August of 2021.

I also spied a new Crescent blacksmith hammer.

As shown in this slightly older photo from 2-3 years ago, Home Depot used to carry Estwing pry bars. I am particularly fond of the prying bar with an I-beam-style handle. I posted about this model a few years ago.

Home Depot also used to carry Estwing nail and molding pullers.

I’ve seen Dewalt and Miwaukee pry bars at local Home Depot stores for a while now, but the Crescent nail pullers and pry bars appear to be brand new.

The Crescent 14-inch model has 47 reviews and ratings on Home Depot’s website, all of them posted within the past few weeks. Only one is marked as a “verified purchase,” with the several dozen others all being “free product Seed program” reviews.

To me, this indicates the nail puller was a new and strategic product launch. Home Depot and their suppliers always seem to be very selective and deliberate about what they send out to their Seed free product program reviewers.

It seems that Home Depot recently added a lot of new Crescent tools to their catalog, such as this demo hammer. They’re not showing up in many online searches yet, suggesting they are very new.

Conduct your own Google search for the Crescent CHSDEM22 demo hammer to see what I mean. Throughout all of the internet, there are just 14 Google search engine results for this model number.

Their “VibeGuard” handle style is also brand new. Most if not all of the new Crescent steel-handled hammers at Home Depot feature this handle style.

Home Depot used to carry Estwing’s USA-made steel-handled ball pein hammers.

In recent years they also had wood-handled ball pein hammers. If don’t recall if this was a domestic or import product.

Looking at the tools in the background, they also had Estwing dead blow hammers, and tack hammers.

As mentioned the other day, Home Depot used to carry Estwing double-face rubber mallets, in addition to standard mallets with large black or non-marring rubber heads.

Home Depot also used to carry Estwing axes.

Estwing makes fantastic rubber mallets. I’ve started buying European replaceable-face rubber mallets, but will always keep an Estwing mallet or two in my kit.

There’s a smaller Estwing double face hammer that I haven’t seen in-stores recently, but that’s not a big deal. As with other brands, Estwing product selection and availability has varied at my local stores over time.

There were also curved claw nail hammers in different sizes. These were my favorite, in 12oz and 16oz sizes.

Although there seem to be some patterns, there has always been some overlap between Home Depot’s hammer and striking tool selections, making it difficult to gauge for certain which Estwing tools were directly replaced.

If you wish to buy Estwing tools, you can still find them at Amazon, Lowe’s, Ace Hardware, and many other retailers.

Reminder: Please keep the comments section polite and civil. No politics!!

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Tractor Supply, the “largest rural lifestyle retailer in the United States,” has been very active this past year, partnering with more tool brands to bolster their selection.

The retailer partnered with Porter Cable in late 2021, but didn’t stop there. When looking into things for my recent update on Porter Cable, I learned that Tractor Supply formed major new partnerships in 2022.

Tractor Supply partnered with Bosch Tools starting in mid-2022, adding Bosch power tools and Dremel rotary tools, oscillating tools, and multi-saw tools to their lineup.

Tractor Supply said that Bosch power tool products would be available online and in nearly 1,000 locations by the end of 2022.

They talked up the brand, saying:

With a Bosch Tool, you know you’re getting a professional-grade power tool ideally suited for any project, whether it’s on the job or living Life Out Here.

Our customers look to Tractor Supply for the highest-quality products in every category, making Dremel and Bosch power tools welcome additions to our tool lineup. We are excited to bring our customers Bosch’s renowned tool engineering and to get their tools in our customers’ hands.

Bosch and Dremel aren’t the only tool brands partnering with Tractor Supply Co.

Earlier in the year, Tractor Supply and Greenworks announced an exclusive partnership, where Tractor Supply would be the exclusive retailer for Greenworks Pro 60V cordless power tools and equipment.

The Greenworks Pro cordless products were set to roll out to Tractor Supply’s website and their stores nationwide.

Earlier this week, Tractor Supply reported “record fourth quarter and fiscal year 2022 financial results.” Their Q4 sales increased by 20.7%, and net sales increased by 11.6% for the fiscal year.

In their announcement, Tractor Supply said:

Tractor Supply had another remarkable year in 2022 as we continued to gain market share and advance our strategic initiatives.

Tractor Supply reported $14.20 billion in sales for the 2022 fiscal year. While far behind the revenue that Home Depot and Lowe’s pull in, this is no chump change. From a sales revenue perspective, these figures mean Tractor Supply is larger than many other household names, such as Ace Hardware.

Tractor Supply is growing, and they’re forging strategic partnerships with tool brands along the way. It will be interesting to see what they do next.

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Zoro, an online industrial supplier owned by Grainger, sent out an email today announcing that they now carry Craftsman tools.

The email’s banner image reads: “Achieve More with Pro-Grade Craftsman Tools,” and includes thumbnailed links to the following categories:

• Tool Storage
• Hand Tools
• Vehicle Maintenance
• Power Tools and Accessories
• Electronics
• Power Transmission
• Storage and Workspace
• Office and School Furniture

Craftsman tools are primarily sold at Lowe’s, ever since Stanley Black & Decker acquired and relaunched the brand, with select tools also available at Amazon, Ace Hardware, and other retailers.

It will be interesting to see what comes from this development.

I wonder if some of Craftsman’s more premium tools be launching at Zoro as well, specifically their V-Series tools, and the potential for USA-made hand tools.

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