What if Snap On went Bankrupt?
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- čas přidán 1. 11. 2021
- As a thought exercise, I wondered what would happen if Snap On failed to successfully transition into the mid 21st century economic model and went bankrupt. How would the tool landscape react? Who would be the next big players. Would we really notice if the parts of Snap On Inc. were sold off and the OEM for many Snap On tools stood up and delivered on their own? And could this really happen?.
This video definitely made me think !
Thanks May. That was the point.
If snapon went bankrupt, the tech's would stop going bankrupt.
I get your logic, but I'm sure with the demise of Snap On, others would quickly step in to help techs into bankruptcy.
I believe the success model with Snap-on revolves around their credit/payment plan service and selling tools to technicians that they may not necessarily need but will buy from a combination of convenience and "better to have and not need than to need and not have" philosophy.
I can tell you if this guy stops buying Snap On tools his dealer would go bankrupt, and Snap On would have to do some belt tightening.
If Snap-On went bankrupt, the tool truck guy would come round and repo all their tools.
I love snap-on flank drive plus wrenches and sockets and ratchets
Snap On owns Bahco, and many other brands.
I for one grew out of that brand loyalty mentality ages ago.
Yeah not one company makes the best of everything
@@brettwalkom948 Indeed.
I'm not sure I ever mentioned brand loyalty. I have in other videos. I think this issue is more of choice vs convenience vs reputation. Amazon is great at triangulating those options into a buy button. Snap On, on the other hand, makes it an experience taking time and effort. At some point the Snap On business model will reach a point of diminishing return and become unsustainable against the raging competition.
It will take longer but the "truck brands" will go the way of sears and radio shack...
I think SnapOn can keep going at least a decade or two before making significant changes. Markup numbers are going to be surprising even when you make a good guess. It’s always more than we think. We’ve seen them really break out with hammers and many other tools that they didn’t have before and I’d bet those have great markup. When we think markup of 700% is good I’d bet some of their tool groups way over that. Manufacturing connections may be their big key? As long as they hold that together.
Bahco, Williams and several other brands, snap on corporate bought out. So those Sweden, Spain and Venezuelan made tools are still authentic high quality snap on made tools. It’s a super smart business plan, when you look at the companies they’ve bought out. As a tech I can say Snap Ons shit is still light years above a lot of the competition: wrenches, diag tools, pliers, etc.
Hello again Doc
Thank you for another Great Video. I think you're right on point. I've been there because of the Craftsman Tools. Which is what I mostly own. So now I am researching for my next tool purchase. For replacement tools. The quality question, who can you trust. Again thank you
Probably will be Swallowed instanly , by the Mighty "Apex" tools..
In graduate school I researched this topic of brand confusion, and across many markets this usually starts with brand value erosion of high-end / high-quality brands. It’s a greed driven phenomenon starting with corporate stock holders who don’t generally actually care about customers, reputation, employees, or communities in which the company is located. These stock holders, or at least those who are voted onto the governing board, relentlessly push above all for revenue growth (i.e. sales volume). With that pressure, these businesses inevitably look for new categories (e.g. Snap-on® making kitchen cutlery ), or extending their existing categories (e.g. Snap-on® making cheap retail box cutters). The first fails more often than not, and the second almost always ends up dragging the brand value down. When you leave your hard won high brand position like Snap-on® has built, you have to drive every element of manufacturing cost out in order to stay competitive because these lower end markets generally are volume driven markets. The right primary goals should instead focus on sustainable profitability, customer loyalty, and contribution to the communities in which they do business. That is, if you value innovation, quality, reliability, durability, and customer service.
Thanks for the detailed comment. I remember back when Apple was innovating like crazy in the early 2000s after Job's return. There was extreme pressure to make lower priced (read commonly affordable) products since the R&D was already done with the more expensive ones. Instead, with minor exception, the base price remained the same and the product got better each year. The pressure was even more intense when the iPads were pushed in education yet there was still an high price/low service compared to other tablets. Personally, I think Apple screwed up that market, but they did hold to their extreme marketing philosophy so there's that.
I see Snap On as more being caught in a paradigm shift. It is attempting to maintain traditional tool values in a vastly different and globally connected marketplace. The core essence of Snap On is part historical and part mythological. And neither will support it indifiently with the new crowd of tool users who have a different take on the whole cradle-to-grave tool buying concept. To me, when the "best' becomes relative, the playing field is reset and brand loyalty becomes fragile. That said, Snap On is still in a position of power and can turn this around, but over the course of months, not years since the aging mechanics are a dying breed, to speak frankly.
Good talk. Thanks.
So in the six months since you put this out has Snap-on contacted you to thank you or sue you?
A comment you made that i would like to comment too is that snap on didn't invent the tool truck interface. It was actually cornwell tools that started it all. That being said snap on has makes and does a better job of making tools than cornwell does now a days. I have been on a cornwell truck and snap on both and cornwell these days pushes a lot of off brand crap that doesn't belong in the same arena of tools as some of the more "premium brand" tools. And trust me I use the air quotes as more of a satire than anything.
I’ll always put the extra foot work in too get my snap on tools fixed
Snap on tools are very hard to get in Europe.
But in Europe you can easily get Knipex, Wiha, Wera, Stahlwille, Hazet, Gedore, Fiskars and Bahco tools :)
KA-NIP-EX
YES ~ INDEED.
Its like Brother sewing machines, you go into walmart and they have cheap $100 plasticy sewing machines but if you go to a sewing machine store and see something that cost over $20,000.
about 4 years ago I seen snap on knives in autozone
Also Walmart Levis and then you have department store Levis. Nike and adidas do it also, if you look at shoes at Fred Meyers the Nikes and adidas are totally different from the footlocker shoes in build quality.
As long as they don’t lower quality. If they go the route of Sears when they were trying to jump into the computer age and they wanted to money grab and lowered the quality of all their tools. If snap on drops to blue point quality and maintains the snap on price then they will fail no matter how they sell them
And as for the Williams screwdrivers and even the fact that Williams ratchets are 36 tooth snap on ratchets, they aren’t comfort grip or multi color. I’m training as a tech for Toyota and I told one of the senior techs about the Williams screwdrivers. He was all interested until he saw he couldn’t get them in neon green. He said he would pay the extra $150 or whatever it was for green handled snap ons. Sometimes getting something cheaper isn’t what someone wants.
@@kennethstephens8046 The Williams I was looking at were available with what look like black handles. Not very exciting. amzn.to/3bBkhau
@@lastbesttool yeah that’s all I’ve seen them in. That’s why the tech didn’t want them
SNAP-ON HAS SURVIVED THROUGH THE HARDEST OF TIMES,THE GREAT DEPRESSION,WORLD WARS,COMPETITION AND YET STILL WE STAY ON TOP ! DONT SEE IT HAPPENING DOC
Go gearwrench tekton harbor freight
I bought the auto retract version of that knife for $55 Hmm, not so sure yet !!
I have almost exclusively Snap-On wrenches, ratchets, screwdrivers, and sockets but I don't not buy their rebranded tools.
i know what you're saying snap on when i was starting out was something i just couldn't afford and you bought something cheaper that usually got the job done and you would splurge for something you really needed something reliable but now some of the cheap stuff or cheaper stuff is reliable enough and are guaranteed for life and you walk in without receipt walk out with new one no questions asked so yeah money in my pocket isn't going in theirs if it can be avoided
I think Snap On is the best no doubt, with a few exceptions for Mac and Matco, but the divide is getting smaller and smaller all the time and in some cases there actually is no difference. The HarborFreight Snap On floor jack lawsuit is a clear case where snap on marked up something by 300% solely because of their name and delivery fee. With brands like Sunex, Gearwrench, and Milwaukee on their heels I believe some innovation or redirection is in order. However I believe they have at minimum several years before it becomes critical.
Additionally the first company to create a quality website/app is going to receive a boost in sales they are all terrible.
I warrantied my first tekton tool last and I can say I'm a customer for life now. Took less than 5 minutes to submit a few photos on their website and they had it approved in 15mins and the new tool shipped later that day that I got in 3 business days. I'm not a mechanic/tech but I rely on my tools in my welding business every day. If they don't work, there's a chance I can't either!
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I haven't exactly been impressed by the quality of some of my snap on wrenches and sockets and even ratchets for that matter. Brand new tools that were still sealed have imperfections like dings, scuffs, rough spots, etc. That really PISSES me off as I have heard great things about them, but the quality control is NOT as TIGHT as it should be IN MY OPINION. I really like certain pairs of their pliers, but the finish work seems semi rough. Not as fine as you'd expect from a top tier, high priced brand like snap on. I enjoy using their tools, but I expect the upmost in quality, quality control, workmanship, etc. In the very near future, I'm going to buy some Japanese made tools such as Koken, Nepros, Fujima, etc to see how they compare.
Interesting video. This topic has come up before and I kind of shrugged it off but now it seems possible for it to fail. Just look at how often dealers go under and sell their franchise. Their current business model looks harder to maintain as time goes by.
Aren't they publicly traded? You could look at their 10k to find out their financials and strategy.
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I feel that snap on priced there self's out of the market so they are making the gimicie items to make money
Not seeing this comment but I didn’t you you bring up US Govt contract work. The ability to be a US manufacturer with US steel supply chain behind it, that is a big business and the competition is decreasing for the most part.
I keep buying snap-on because of the truck payment plan I keep making my payments and I keep getting tools lol I'm only going to buy so much im done with 3/8's sockets and ratchets. 1/4 and 1/2 sockets and ratchets and I'm done lol I keep getting the buy one get 1 free socket sets so its not so bad.
It seems to me that Snap On is in a similar situation as other long standing brands like Rolex. The price of the main brand has risen to a point where some view them as a luxury. Rather than lower prices or making more affordable models, Rolex uses the Tudor brand to sell a more affordable option. The difference is that Rolex has done a better job of not competing with Tudor than Snap On has done not competing with Blue Point. If I were Snap On, I would get the Blue Point stuff off of the trucks immediately to stop competing with themselves. Don’t sell Blue Point on the same website, etc. Blue Point is a fine brand, but they have created an unnecessary situation by selling them side by side in my opinion.
You shouldn’t mess with the integrity of a company.
If Rolex made a name-branded less expensive watch, it would be the death of the brand.
@@lastbesttool They do make it it’s called Tudor. The poor man’s rolex, I’m a watch expert. Own several rolex myself.
This guy doesn't know what he's talking about if you notice that every time you try to buy by vice grips they always curve jaw you have to go out of your way to find a flat jaw ones
My comment referred to Craftsman brand vise grip-like pliers. Google "Craftsman 45713" and you will see sets where the large plier has flat jaws yet individual large versions have the curved jaws.
When a guy talks about buy quality not cheap with a Rolex on i just go ahead and stop listening cause you could have bought a seiko for better value so you buy what you like not the best value
Williams tips are not the same as snap on they break off the metals too hard lol plus the own Williams
Good to know. I was leaning toward getting a set just to compare. But the last thing I need is more screwdrivers.
I've never seen a market that's as brand-conscious as the tool market. Watch any toolbox tour; the brand of a given tool is paramount. Many base their personal identities on a brand like Snap-on, driven by other costumers' perception of a given purchase. Seems like the younger the tech, the more likely he is to buy as much SO as he can. In a sense, the company is sold to the ignorant as a quick way to gather quality. No homework required.
I think the brand-consciousness is evidence of brand confusion. Which is exactly why naming the brand is important. Just saying a 20mm wrench is not enough. Exactly what wrench? That is the detail we want. Experience is not usually just with a tool but with the tool. And without a particular brand or better yet part number, the opinion is hard to act on.
@@lastbesttool The tool market is one of few perfect markets in existence; one can pay essentially whatever he wants for the exact same product. Lang snap ring pliers, as an example, can be purchased under a variety of brands. Each priced differently. Sure, a 20mm wrench can mean anything. I agree. It's the lack of variety that points to a somewhat mindless purchase. By that I mean that the costumer isn't fully aware of his options and chooses the tool that's preferred by others. A tool with a brand that gives him confidence.
Saw a video a short time back where a tech was talking about prybars. He said that Mayhew has a good reputation, but he'd never used them preferring Matco's product. Matco prybars are relabeled Mayhew, as are many others on the trucks (not SO). This is precisely what I'm talking about. A lack of knowledge that leads to a reliance on a specific brand. An insurance policy of sorts that's often driven by a lack of information.
Witness the term, "Amazon Tools." We both know that it refers to imported tools that are only sold on Amazon or perhaps ebay. It's not about high quality tools that can be had at the same store, yet I've seen video after video where the host points to an Amazon Tool somewhat sheepishly without realizing that it's a very good product. Saw the same thing with the Knipex-like Bahco pliers. Apparently they're sold as a Blue Point offering. The tech who discussed them bought 'em for his home box, because the quality isn't there in his opinion. He'd never used the pliers. Sheer ignorance. This particular sector of the market has two trajectories of quality - it's either made in the USA or a tool truck brand. This leaves a whole lot of excellent tools on the table and leads to purchasing parity, if you like.
Look at the knife , work boot, or gun market.
I'm not the type who really buy into brands myself, I simply buy certain tools from the companies I trust to make those tools well for a reasonable price and stand by it without charging a premium for their name.
I may really love Channellock owning a lot of their pliers, and have a few Channellock lapel pins, but I'm not going to buy a socket set or drill from a plier company.
Trust me there are so many people out there who don't care about the brand, all they care about are the flashy features/ marketing and low price.
They just want a professional style tool at a much lower price, even if they may not actually be getting the same quality.
And the apparel market is the worst of all, people get so hung up on brands and showing off that big bold flashy logo plastered across the front of their T shirt or stupid hoodie.
Theyll riot and loot under the guise of a " peaceful protest " so they can steel sneakers and jeans.
On the polar opposite you also have people who just don't care about the actual brand but about the style, they'll buy the cheapest shoes...ect as long as it has the current trendy style.
They don't care if they're buying worthless crap that won't last as long as it looks cool.
Snap On quality is not as good as some Taiwanese or even some Chinese brands. There are CZcams videos comparing the failure point of ratchets and wrenches. I don't think Snap-On was even in the top 3. So what you are buying is superficial, super-hyped, super expensive, eye candy. Yeah, they'd better sell on trucks and make it easy to get or technicians would just order better stuff on Amazon. Imagine the money they could save buying overseas stuff. I have Snap-on sockets, ratchets and wrenches but CZcams has convinced me that I probably got scammed. They do feel impressive but that's all superficial.
Yeah I got sucked into that, sold most of my snap on stuff, bought some gearwrench wrenches and on the first use they rounded one of my brake caliper bolts, and now I definitely regret selling my snap on wrenches
@@scottyee707 This. I came from the other direction though. I have the kobalt, and channellocks, and Gb, and gearwrench, and tekton, and they work ok. But my most used tools I’ve started replacing with snap-on and there is no one big difference in the way they work…there are lots of subtle differences.
Hey doc ,like Home Depot selling John Deere.heard the ones you buy at Home Depot have plastic internal parts,and the John Deere you buy from a real Deere dealership are better made.
@Jacks Journale Hard to disagree.
It wouldn't hurt my feelings if Snap-on went bankrupt. I prefer not to buy Snap-on.
Can you put a finer point on why you prefer not to buy Snap On? That is the information I'm curious about since buyer choice is a big part of this question.
@@lastbesttool
The cost of the tools are ridiculous. I've always used Craftsman. Had them since the 70's. Never had any problems with them, and I used them hard.
@@lastbesttool the cost of Snap-on tools are ridiculous.. I don't believe in paying for a name. I use my Craftsman tools I purchased in the late 70's. They are I believe just as good.
To me, it doesn't matter if their made in the U.S., Japan, Germany or China. As long as they do what their designed for.
ALOT OF SNAP-ON IS MADE IN CHINA.
I don’t think snap on is gonna go bankrupt selling fucking sockets for 70 dollars a piece
I’ve been on the fence about your channel lately. I’m out.
SNAP-ON TOOLS SINCE 1920