Amazon will carry Stanley Black & Decker’s new Craftsman products later this year, joining Ace Hardware and Lowe’s (Inside Licensing Oct. 24) in selling the iconic brand, company executives told analysts.

The Craftsman products are still in development and manufacturing capacity for them at third-party factories hasn’t been finalized, something that will likely lead to demand initially outstripping supply, Stanley Black & Decker’s Jeff Ansell said. Stanley expects to be manufacturing half the product internally within a year of launch and be nearly fully transitioned to its own plants within three years, Ansell said.

Stanley acquired the Craftsman brand from Sears last year (Inside Licensing Jan. 5, 2017). Despite Sears Holdings’ wave of store closings, the opportunity for the Craftsman brand remains “very significant” CEO James Loree said. The Craftsman brand is expected to generate about $100 annually in incremental sales, Stanley Black & Decker has said.

Under terms of the deal, Sears has a perpetual license to source and sell Craftsman tools through its stores royalty-free for 15 years. Sears also will receive 2.5% of sales of Stanley-designed Craftsman products through 2020, 3% through 2023 and 3.5% after that until 2032.

Meanwhile, Stanley Black and Decker’s net income rose 10.4% to $281.1 million in Q4 ended Dec. 31 despite taking an $8.6 million charge, nearly half of which was tied to acquisitions.  Total revenue rose 17% to $3.4 billion, while tools and storage sales, which include the Craftsman brand, increased 26% to $2.43 billion. The tools and storage division’s profit rose 25% to $391.9 million.  Stanley forecast 11-14% growth in earnings in the fiscal year ending Dec. 31, 2018 on a 5% gain in revenue, an increase partly driven by expected sales of Craftsman products

Contact:

Stanley Black & Decker, Jeff Ansell, EVP and Pres. Tools and Storage Division, 860-225-5111.