Tool shoppers who spent time online in the fall of 2019 kept seeing the same thing: Craftsman banner advertisements on page after page, across desktop, laptop, and phone screens. Amazon was spending heavily to tell buyers that it now carried Craftsman tools, and the frequency of those ads was hard to miss. Around the same time, Lowe’s was finishing store remodels that turned its tool section from Kobalt blue to Craftsman red. For construction professionals, this retail shift matters because it changes where tools are stocked, how they are priced, and which promotions show up before the holiday season. Anyone weighing the two biggest sellers should start with a close look at how Kobalt vs Craftsman at Lowe’s reshaped what shoppers find on the shelves.
The Background: Craftsman’s Move Away From Sears
For most of its history, Craftsman meant Sears. Customers knew that the department store was the place to buy Craftsman tools, and even when Sears granted Ace Hardware limited distribution in 2010, the arrangement did little to change that habit. Everything shifted when Stanley Black & Decker acquired the brand. The $900 million sale of Craftsman tools to Stanley Black & Decker brought new owners, new production plans, and a much smaller network of retail partners.
After the sale, the list of places to buy new Stanley Black & Decker era Craftsman tools stayed short. The company named six distributors:
- Lowe’s
- Ace Hardware
- Amazon
- Menards
- Blain’s Farm & Fleet
- Atwoods Ranch & Home
Amazon and Lowe’s quickly became the largest retail partners in that group, which explains the advertising push that followed. When a brand with Craftsman’s history lands in a handful of stores, each retailer competes to be the one shoppers think of first.
The 2010 Ace Hardware Experiment
The 2010 deal with Ace Hardware is worth remembering because it showed how strong the Sears association was. Sears kept exclusive control of the brand for decades, then opened limited distribution to Ace stores. Even then, shoppers still said they would go to Sears for Craftsman. That loyalty was a large part of what Stanley Black & Decker paid for in the 2017 acquisition, and it explains why retailers now spend so much on displays and advertising to claim that loyalty for themselves.
How Amazon Built Its Craftsman Store-in-a-Store
Amazon’s Craftsman section grew quickly through 2019. In April, observers spotted many new Craftsman tool listings, and by September most of those tools were shipping. The section expanded into a broader range of categories than it carried a few months earlier, and Amazon appeared to be getting ready for the fourth quarter and the winter holiday shopping season.
The advertising was aggressive by Amazon’s standards. Banner ads for Craftsman tools followed shoppers across the web, and the ads also appeared on Amazon’s own shopping pages. Retargeting explains part of this: people who browse tools see tool ads. The unusual part was the scale. Amazon had not advertised other tool brands so heavily before, which suggested the company wanted shoppers to associate Craftsman with Amazon.
Shoppers who want a sense of how these promotions play out in practice can check the early Black Friday Craftsman tool deals on Amazon that surfaced in later seasons. The pattern from 2019 repeated: Amazon leads with discounts on popular kits and bundles before the big shopping weekends, and the store-in-a-store format makes those deals easy to find.
Why the Store-in-a-Store Format Works
A store-in-a-store gives a brand a dedicated home inside a bigger catalog. On Amazon, that means a single landing area where shoppers can browse Craftsman tools by category, compare models, and see what is new without wading through unrelated results. For the retailer, it concentrates demand around one brand and makes cross-selling easier. For the brand, it creates a stable shelf presence in a marketplace where attention is hard to hold.
Retargeting and the Tool Shopper’s Feed
Retargeting did much of the heavy lifting in 2019. Ads followed the author of the original observation around the web because his browsing history marked him as a tool buyer. Construction professionals should expect the same behavior: searches for saws, drills, and fasteners trigger ads for the brands tied to those searches. That is not a coincidence. The ads you see are shaped by what you already looked at, so price comparisons should account for the bias.
Lowe’s Tool World Remodel: From Blue Aisles to Red Displays
Lowe’s took a different path. The company revamped many stores with prominent Craftsman displays, and the change was visible from the moment you walked into the tool section. For years that section was blue, the color of Lowe’s Kobalt brand. After the remodel, it was red, the color of Craftsman.
Lowe’s had spent years advertising Kobalt on television and radio, usually around the winter holiday season and Father’s Day. Craftsman commercials began appearing too, and the store redesign signaled a real commitment rather than a temporary promotion. The tool area received a dedicated treatment inside many locations, sometimes organized as a tool world or tool center with Craftsman front and center.
The stakes go beyond paint colors. Retailers use displays to shape what contractors and homeowners buy, and the tool brand advertising that shapes contractor purchasing decisions starts with visibility. A brand that owns the end cap, the wall, and the demo table wins a large share of unplanned purchases.
Why Retailers Compete to Own a Tool Brand’s Image
Amazon and Lowe’s were not just stocking Craftsman tools. Each wanted to be the place shoppers think of when they think of the brand. Amazon’s heavy advertising suggested the company wanted to be known as the source for Craftsman tools. Lowe’s investment in store redesigns showed the same ambition from the other direction.
Brand strength explains the fight. Craftsman carried decades of trust from generations of buyers, and Stanley Black & Decker planned to grow the brand’s offerings over several years. A retailer that captures that demand early keeps it. Buyers benefit from the competition in the form of better availability, more aggressive pricing, and faster warranty support, but they also need to check which retailer actually stands behind the warranty claim. The way Craftsman and Stanley transformed their image for modern builders changed how the brand is sold, not just what it looks like.
Comparing Craftsman Retail Channels for Construction Buyers
With distribution concentrated in six chains, construction buyers should understand what each channel does well. The table below summarizes the trade-offs.
| Channel | Strengths | Watch-Outs |
|---|---|---|
| Lowe’s | In-store displays, seasonal promotions, easy returns | Stock and display space vary by store |
| Amazon | Wide catalog, fast shipping, store-in-a-store section | Confirm the seller is authorized before relying on warranty |
| Ace Hardware | Local stores, knowledgeable staff, small-tool service | Smaller selection than big-box chains |
| Menards | Rebate programs and price matching in its regions | Limited regional footprint |
| Blain’s Farm & Fleet | Strong coverage in rural and farm markets | Fewer locations overall |
| Atwoods Ranch & Home | Farm and ranch focus, practical assortments | Niche audience and store count |
A quick verification routine protects buyers in any channel:
- Check that the seller is an authorized Craftsman dealer before buying, especially on marketplaces.
- Compare the same model number across two channels, since prices and bundled accessories differ.
- Confirm the warranty process, including who handles claims and whether shipping is covered.
- Look at the return window before large purchases, because holiday deals often tighten return policies.
Planning Tool Purchases Around the Holiday Season
Both retailers were positioning for the fourth quarter in 2019, and the pattern has repeated every year since. Heavy promotions land before Black Friday, again in December, and once more around Father’s Day. Contractors who track these cycles can time large purchases to the discount windows instead of paying full price mid-season.
One practical way to stay current is to follow the sources that test and recommend tools, including Amazon influencer pages for construction tool recommendations. These pages surface bundles and seasonal pricing that plain search results often miss. Pair that with a holiday tool deal strategy built around Amazon’s promotion calendar, and the shopping season stops being a scramble.
The 2019 advertising blitz previewed how tool retail would work for years: fewer stores, bigger displays, and retailers fighting to own the brand in the buyer’s mind. For construction professionals, the winning move is to use that competition, compare channels, and buy when the promotion calendar works in your favor.