On Tuesday, September 2, 2014 8:26:24 AM UTC-5, Leon wrote:


i think it is a unique business arrangement with HD. Some Ridgid tools are

and or were available elsewhere, think shop vac, but a vast majority of the

new Ridgid power tools are only available through HD.. Ryobi has a similar

arangement with HD, years ago you could buy Ryobi most any where. Sears

had that, a similar arrangement with the Craftsman brand name, now you can

buy Craftsman at Ace Hardware.

I think the big difference is how the tools are designed and manufactured. I love to see how business changes and how they are run. It seems these days that most really large companies have little to do with some of their own products, other than to make sure the numbers "work". An outside engineering firm brings a design for a new sander to a Big Box Store, and their team evaluates the service life, the usablility, the design, and the most important aspect, cost to manufacture. There is no doubt that some of the BBSs have an interest in the companies they choose, but don't own them. They do however, own all other aspects of their product including the engineering designs, distribution, etc.

Distributing a mass produced name friendly product across many channels just makes sense. For the most part, the higher the count of manufactured widgets goes, the less price per widget results. So why not sell a mediocre brand like Sears anywhere you can? Same with Ridgid; they sell Ridgid tools (in a limited selection) at our largest plumbing supplier here, and now I see they have Ridgid recon items, brand new batteries and other Ridgid necessaries at CPO Outlets.

At once time, HD had a licensing deal with Ryobi. I think I read that Ryobi has since been purchased in whole or part by HD but don't know. So, 20+ years ago I wanted a new, powerful 14.4 drill. Ryobi was the only affordable one out there, and I got a tip from a guy working there at HD that their other brands had been coming back as returns, but not the Ryobi. It was marked "Ryobi Industrial" on the box. He assured me that the brand was big everywhere but here in the USA.

As much in their infancy as USABLE battery powered tools were in those days, that drill was a winner and lasted about 5 years on the job as my only cordless drill. When I decided to retire it, it was because of the price of replacing two batteries (think 15 years ago). Now Ryobi is quite different and is now a name like so many others. Look halfway down the page and see if you recognize any of the brands owned by this investment group:

http://www.ttigroup.com/en/our_brands/

I think most tools these days are designed not with long term usability like Festool does, but more for a guy looking for utility value. Personally, I am somewhere in the middle. I love using a really nice tool, but find it hard to let go of the cash these days. And for the most part, unless you jump all the way up to a Festool type brand, I am not so sure we get much difference in our tools these days regardless of what we spend.

Robert