ToughBuilt Industries Shopping Trips: June 2024
Menards adds and promotes 80+ 'Hot Buy' ToughBuilt products while Lowe's focuses on key ToughBuilt product lines
- June 19, 2024 update: Menards restocking Chicagoland stores and running sales on ToughBuilt.
- June 20, 2024 update: ToughBuilt made Menards Weekly Ad Flyer in Chicagoland!
- June 24, 2024 update: Menards heavily stocking and displaying ToughBuilt Hot Buy and Weekly Ad products in Wisconsin (five end-caps).
- June 30, 2024 update:
- Menards and Lowe's have both reduced their in-store ToughBuilt product inventory.
- There is no significant penetration into Walmart, Home Depot, eBay, Amazon, Do It Best Hardware, Ace Hardware, or other U.S. retailers in-store or online. The Q2 2024 push is behind us.
- We notice an anomaly. Do It Best Hardware has saw horses that Import Info dot com leads us to believe might be made by LSM (PRC), for ToughBuilt, and shipped under the Channellock brand, with similar model numbers (C700 is CL700). This could be a source of previously unknown vendor scale and revenue, and an expansion of the relationship (we saw a few ToughBuilt branded products in their catalog).
We were reading the comments under a recent ToolGuyD blogpost and we saw someone mention that Menards had a few ToughBuilt products, but they might have been an odd-lot or close-out, so we took a look online yesterday (June 9, 2024). We saw incremental ToughBuilt product lines carried in-stock at attractive prices. We placed two orders on our phone. We never buy tools that way, but the prices and selection were compelling. On June 10, 2024, we picked up the in-stock portion of those orders and did more shopping and buying at two local Menards stores (Vernon Hills and Gurnee, Illinois).
We purchased items that we have been looking for, but unable to find, for months. We also found many products at very attractive prices, even below the 11% rebate. We are on purpose not showing the prices, as those are proprietary to Menards. However, we don't often buy two of the same item and we did that in this online shopping trip (the builder's bag and the screwdriver set are both quantity of two).
Menards is carrying branded items from ToughBuilt that they did not carry before. In our local store, they are now carrying 83 items. This includes a large selection of bags, including rolling bags, Massive Mouth TM Tool bags, Contractor and Builder bags, the Laptop bag, and other bags. They carry multiple SKUs of knee pads, all ToughBuilt branded. They have framing hammers, aviation tin snips, the folding Pull Saw, screwdrivers, and a much larger assortment of Clip Tech TM belts and tool pouches than before. They also have the 165' laser distance measurer, digital angle gauge level, and levels all carrying the ToughBuilt brand name.
Their 8-piece screwdriver set is listed at an incredibly low price. Actually, all the products are being sold at a very attractive (to us) low prices. We went a little crazy with our two orders, and when we pick the first one up today we may buy more. My wife asked where I am going to keep all my gear. I did not tell her about the StackTech TM mobile storage stack I have my eye on.
We had a good family visit to the Wisconsin Dells. On the way home on June 23, 2024 we stopped by Menards in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. A large store full of customers. We found five end-caps full of ToughBuilt products. They had their weekly advertisement posted over the urinal where I saw ToughBuilt's replacement blades highlighted. We bought a cart full of ToughBuilt products, including the bucket organizer, the 48" masonry level, multiple builder's bags, fastener bags, and a screwdriver set at great prices. The Tools Associate Lead told us where to find the end-caps. He also told us they are putting out the new inventory as Hot Buys and end-cap specials as it comes in, not making them permanent products.
We saw end caps with low price ToughBuilt products in both Menards.
In the Vernon Hills, Illinois store we felt like kids in a candy store. We picked up our order, then went shopping at the end-caps and around the tools area to find and shop the ToughBuilt products. The screwdrivers were in their original shipping box, and look like they were ordered and delivered on January 25, 2023 and were shipped in pallet 39 of 58.
We saw two full "Hot Buy" ToughBuilt end-caps. We could not find ToughBuilt saws, hammers or saw horses in the store, and it looks like the Massive Mouth bags are held in the back room, not on display.
We saw two full "Hot Buy" ToughBuilt end-caps. We could not find ToughBuilt saws, hammers or saw horses in the store, and it looks like the Massive Mouth bags are held in the back room, not on display.
In the Gurnee, Illinois store, we picked up our in-stock order then shopped the ToughBuilt sales. We bought a pack of replacement box cutter blades and spoke with an employee and another customer about ToughBuilt. We saw two fully stocked "Hot Buy" end-caps, tools integrated into the shelves, and older stock ToughBuilt tool belts in two places in the store.
We went shopping at Lowe's in California's Central Valley on June 3, 2024. We visited the Dublin store and shopped the tools section for ToughBuilt. It was slim pickings in most sections, except for StackTech TM which was fully stocked with phase one products.
And we observed...
In conclusion, it looks like Lowe's is restocking a few core items or product groups this quarter. We see good stock and placement of the first phase of StackTech products (the initial release). We also see it being restocked in our local stores.
We see stocking in the pictures above of the 8-piece screwdriver set, levels and saws. The rest of the products look to be on their way out of stock, including Knee Pads (already gone), tool pouches (mostly gone), knives, and Massive Mouth TM bags (two left in stock). We only saw one standard framing hammer, and it is on sale in Dublin, California.
We see stocking in the pictures above of the 8-piece screwdriver set, levels and saws. The rest of the products look to be on their way out of stock, including Knee Pads (already gone), tool pouches (mostly gone), knives, and Massive Mouth TM bags (two left in stock). We only saw one standard framing hammer, and it is on sale in Dublin, California.
Our local Ace Hardware in Glenview, Illinois is now selling the C300 sawhorse (delivery only), and the folding pull saw (free ship to store in 2 days). We also see a utility knife in stock. We can purchase various knee pads, Massive Mouth bags, and a wide selection of tool belts, suspenders, and tool pouches for delivery to home or to the store. This is an increase in product availability (as of June 10, 2024).
- Do It Best hardware store website is focused on competitive brands, not ToughBuilt.
- Ace Hardware has a larger lineup of ToughBuilt products available for sale and shipping.
- Home Depot has 20 products available 'ship to store, for free' that are the soft goods of tool belts, tool pouches and suspenders. We checked again today, June 11, 2024, and there are over 100 products available for sale and shipping (many ship to store for free pickup), but the prices are higher than expected.
- Amazon has a ToughBuilt store, and has some of the key products for sale. However, the prices range from typical to high, when compared to other sellers. We checked again today, June 11, 2024, and now confirmed that Amazon's prices are higher than can be found shopping in Lowe's, Menards and Home Depot.
As a final reminder, StackTech is only available for sale in the United States at Lowe's. This is an exclusive product placement.
On a final note, we shopped Lowe's mobile app for our local stores, and found some first-time sales on hammers and saws. These are compelling discounts. If we needed another hammer or PVC saw, we would have bought it now at Lowe's.