Information about Craftsman (tools)

Craftsman is a line of tools and lawn and garden equipment, owned by The KCD IP, LLC. Although items sold carry a Craftsman brand name, they are made by various contractors. The tools are sold in Sears, Kmart, and Orchard Supply Hardware stores (all three owned by Sears Holdings Corporation), and also at Fastenal, and US military Army and Air Force Exchange Service stores. Consumers have ranked Craftsman No. 2 in terms of quality - preceded only by Waterford crystal. (Source: Nov. 2002 EquiTrend(SM) survey by Harris Interactive). Since 1927, Craftsman has sold more hammers and other striking tools than any other brand. Craftsman is also the official tool of NASCAR.

History

Sears has sold its hand tools under the "Craftsman" name since 1927. Into the 1970s, their secondary line of hand tools were called simply "Sears," and according to many consumers they were of above average quality. Sears' bargain line of tools was named "Companion". While the "Sears" line was discontinued around 1980, the "Companion" line remains. In recent years, a subset of the Craftsman line, known as "Craftsman Professional" has been introduced as a highest quality line under the Craftsman logo, and they are billed as Only The Best as a part of the Sears/Craftsman advertising campaign.

Warranty

Craftsman hand tools have an unlimited lifetime warranty. Almost any tool may be brought to a Sears store and exchanged for a replacement item. Some items are considered specialty tools, and thus not covered under the unlimited warranty.

Craftsman Portable Power Tools, Bench Power Tools, Air Compressors and other powered items carry various warranties. Sears offers Replacement Agreements and Master Protection Agreements on most of their tools.

Craftsman Lawn & Garden products offer a Repair Protection Agreement.

Craftsman tape measures carry a lifetime warranty on all parts except the blade itself.

After the merger, Kmart began selling Craftsman products; Kmart stores will also honor the lifetime warranties on any hand tools.

The unlimited lifetime warranty is voided if the tool is used in an industrial or commercial environment. For these situations, there is a special unlimited warranty program.

Legal Battles

Craftsman tools came under fire in 2004 in a lawsuit accusing Sears, Roebuck and Company of false advertising and consumer fraud for questionable use of the "Made in USA" slogan.[1]

Sears Holdings Corporation

People: Floyd Hall | Alan J. Lacy | Sebastian S. Kresge | Alvah C. Roebuck | Richard Sears

Retailers: Kmart | Big Kmart | Super Kmart | Lands' End | Sears | Sears Grand | Sears Hardware | Sears Appliance Dealer | Sears Outlet | Sears Parts & Repair | The Great Indoors | Orchard Supply Hardware | Sears Canada | Sears Mexico

Brands: Craftsman | DieHard | Kenmore | Joe Boxer | Martha Stewart Everyday

Annual Revenue: $49.124 billion USD (2006) | Employees: 355,000 (2006) Stock Symbol: NASDAQ SHLD | Website: searsholdings.com