Every now and then, I check Walmart’s PRO TOOLS section, to see what they’ve been doing with the program. Imagine my surprise to see Bosch tools listed as being sold and shipped by Walmart – is BOSCH now a WALMART retail partner?
Update: Despite product listings stating that Bosch tools are being sold and shipped by Walmart, Bosch USA says that they are not selling Bosch-branded tools direct to Walmart.
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Back when the Walmart Pro Tools program first launched, I was told that Bosch would be included as one of their select tool brands, sold via just two third party retailers that partnered with Walmart for this program.
I reported about this, and it did not turn out well, as it seemed that Walmart – and their hand-picked Pro Tools third party sellers – and Bosch USA were on different pages.
Bosch tools were promptly removed from Walmart’s Pro Tools section, I was asked to update my posts, and Walmart modified their landing page image, stripping away the Bosch branding and blue color from the jig saw to render it unrecognizable.
The message was clear – Bosch Tools were NOT to be a part of Walmart’s Pro Tools program.
However, it seems that Bosch Tools USA has changed their minds and are now a part of Walmart’s Pro Tools section, and not only that, Bosch tools are listed as being sold and shipped directly from Walmart.
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These are not simply listings by third party sellers on Walmart’s marketplace. “Sold and Shipped by” usually indicates a direct relationship between brand and seller.
Walmart’s direct listings include a wide range of Bosch products – sanders, cordless power tools, laser layout tools, power tool accessories, and more.
Looking deeper, there are a lot of Bosch tools currently sold directly by Walmart – dozens as of the time of this posting.
These are not tools listed by third party vendors, or even by the third party sellers Walmart hand-picked to be included in their Pro Tools section. These are Bosch Tools sold and shipped by Walmart.
Why? Is Bosch simply looking to increase their visibility in light of recent home center reductions?
Diablo Tools, also owned by the Robert Bosch Corporation, is replacing Bosch in most if not all of Home Depot’s power tool accessories sections. We have not yet received any information or insights as to why this is being done, but it appears that Bosch screwdriver bits, jig saw blades, spade drill bits, and other accessories are no longer being sold at Home Depot stores.
See Also:
WHY is Diablo Rebranding so Many Bosch Power Tool Accessories?
From Devils to Demons: Is Home Depot Switching from Bosch Spade Drill Bits to Diablo?
Bosch’s tool and accessories presence seems to be diminishing at Lowe’s stores as well, at least from what I have seen recently. There was a noticeable absence of Bosch tool deals at my local Lowe’s stores this holiday shopping season, and a scarcity of Bosch cordless promos on their website as well.
Bosch USA has been… different in recent years.
For example, Bosch rebranded their 2-in-1 impact tool as “The FREAK,” a name that some believe to be unbecoming of a professional tool brand.
Read More: Meet the New Bosch Cordless Power Tool Posse – the MegaWatt Crew
Bosch USA’s marketing practices have changed direction and surprised us in other ways, but that is beyond the scope of this story.
Could all these marketing changes be tied together? What does Bosch Tools hope to gain by partnering with Walmart? Great visibility? Exposure to new users? Are they making up for lost exposure elsewhere?
There is another important question. Does this mean Bosch tools will also be available at Walmart stores? Walmart has launched a new line of DIY-focused Hart tools and accessories, and the Hart brand has taken over their tool sections. Is this move a stepping stone towards Walmart making room for select Bosch tools and offerings?
This is a significant development, and one that I did not anticipate.
I never would have predicted that Bosch Tools would have reversed their stance towards Walmart’s Pro Tools section. Not only that, they seem to have partnered with Walmart directly, seeing as how the tools are sold and shipped by Walmart and not third party sellers.
We reached out to Bosch USA, asking for insights about their new partnership with Walmart, but have not yet heard back.
Shop for Bosch Tools Sold by Walmart
Updates
12/7/2020 4:00pm ET
We heard back from Bosch USA:
Regarding your article addressing Bosch and Walmart, to be clear, Bosch does not sell Bosch branded power tools direct to Walmart.
This suggests that there is no direct relationship implied by Walmart’s direct product listings.
We asked for further clarity; Walmart is selling Bosch Tools directly, but Bosch’s response explicitly says the tools are not coming from Bosch USA.
Popgun42
I will not buy Bosch from Walmart…I do not like Walmart.
Tom D
Would you could you with a fish? Or online?
I could see Walmart trying to go for a basic/pro line – but they don’t have the room on the shelves in the store (Hart has overtaken) and being associated with Walmart doesn’t seem to be the way to strike the “professional” line for Bosch.
Hon Cho
I’d rather not buy from Wal-Mart but then, I’d rather not buy from Amazon either and if I had to choose one or the other I’d choose Wal-Mart. That’s my choice and yours may be different and that’s fine.
Unfortunately, the changing retail landscape has forced many manufacturers to choose partnering with retailing outlets that they might otherwise not want to be associated with their products. However, it’s a money game and when the marketeers and accountants with their spreadsheets and crystal balls do their thing, no telling where you’ll be able to purchase–or NOT be able to purchase–whatever product you’re looking for.
Rog
Never been a huge fan of Bosch or understood all the love for them, but this seals the deal. Definitely cheapens their image
Koko The Talking Ape
Their corded jigsaws and sanders seem popular. I like mine. Can’t speak to the cordless tools.
PTBRULES
Bosch Tools are High End tools, I’d argue that they would have been the best tools on the market decade ago. But they are now other manufactures have caught up (at least).
They are still High End, but there marketing and retail strategy had dropped off completely.
Steve L
I restained a deck 2 months ago. I wanted to use Defy stain and the best deal was to order from Walmart with UPS delivery. That was 5 gallon cans of stain plus cleaner and brightner in 1 gallon containers. Seller was not Walmart but used Walmart’s website – just like many sellers do on Amazon. Delivery was on schedule with no damage.
I view Walmart as gearing up to compete with Amazon.
fred
I rarely shopped at Wal-Mart before the Pandemic – buying mostly things lie paper goods. laundry and cleaning products – with perhaps 6 to 8 visits per year. The pandemic has changed that – and now I have a Wal-Mart delivery almost weekly. I like that they have a low minimum $ threshold for free delivery – no membership fee (like Amazon Prime) needed – prices not inflated on items shipped from them – and discounts often applied for buying in multiples (unlike Amazon).
While I don’t like what I’ve read about some of their almost predatory practices in dealing with their suppliers – and the fact that their business model (perhaps main clientele too) seem to focus on low-end goods from China – getting things like PB and Jelly, breakfast cereal and canned soup from them has been great.
Tom D
If you dig into it, Costco and Trader Joe’s do similar (if not worse) practices toward their suppliers (Costco makes suppliers eat the returns even years later or face losing their contract).
Walmart is well positioned to give Amazon a real race and they’re clearly gearing up for it.
Stuart
Many online retailers have 3rd party seller marketplaces.
The difference here is that Walmart itself is listed as the seller and shipper.
Yadda
Rumors are circulating that Wal-Mart will be changing their free shipping program to be fee based similar to Amazon.
Tom D
They already introduced “Walmart Plus” which is Prime basically.
They have stores within 10m of most of the USA so they can cut out UPS/FedEx without having to establish their own delivery setup.
John
I would guess that walmart offers a fulfillment service where you ship your goods to them and they inventory, warehouse, and distribute them as a service. So a third party tool distributor (not bosch) could be using a service like that to sell bosch tools. They are still “sold by walmart” because it comes from walmart’s warehouse, but walmart isn’t doing the procurement.
A-A-ron
Bosch USA has the most juvenile marketing I’ve seen from any tool brand. I remember all the new (from 2 years ago, still no release here in the US) tools they were promoting with silly names and descriptions that sounded like something a teenager would write for a runway show. Yes, it really was that ridiculous. Whoever their head of marketing is needs to be replaced, and should have long ago.
MT_Noob
Anyone know whatever happened to the Bosch/SawStop cease legal battle? Bosch stopped selling their REAXX in the US. But I wonder if they ever plan to do so after the patent expires or the legal battles are over.
Stuart
The court ruled in favor of SawStop and Bosch was forced to stop importing and selling the saw here.
https://toolguyd.com/court-rules-in-favor-of-sawstop-over-bosch-reaxx-injury-mitigating-table-saw-patent-infringement-suit/
fred
I bet that Festool/Sawstop will do everything they can to extend their patent protection for as long as possible. But once it runs out, I expect to see multiple offerings of saws with flesh-contact protection. Don’t hold your breath – if you need a new saw then you might still consider a Sawstop if you deem their added safety features important to you.
I know that my ex-compatriots bought one of their cabinet saws – and told met that they like it. I think that they are toying with buying some of their jobsite saws too.
OldDominionDIYer
Bosch’s recent changes are indeed strange. Partnering with Walmart would seem to be a large step down on the marketing ladder. Pro’s don’t shop at Walmart for their tools, Is their going to be two levels of tools coming out of Bosch? I can’t figure out what they (Bosch) think they have to gain by partnering with Walmart. Also makes me think that perhaps Bosch is losing ground to some of the other Big Tool MFRs they complete with and are desperately searching for an outlet through which they can get their products out to the population. In any case this doesn’t look like a wise long term plan but I guess we will find out!
fred
Maybe they plan to introduce some of those Green colored tools that they sell in the EU – aimed at the homeowner/DIY market – into the USA via Wal-Mart. That might be interesting competition for Ryobi buyers.
Tom D
I suspect they realize they don’t really stand a chance against the US “professional” brands – because they don’t want to spend the money/effort to bring their entire line to the US.
So this is a compromise, but it strikes me as strange. Wouldn’t you first try to go with Lowes if you couldn’t get HD? Menards has lots of Bosch, will have to keep an eye on it.
CountyCork
Lots of professional tool brands there as well. Makita, Dewalt, Klein, Knipex, metabo, etc…….
Stuart
Makita seems to only be available through 3rd party sellers. I knew this was in the works.
Klein and Knipex were included when the curated Pro Tools section launched.
It looks like 3 Dewalt products – organizers and a tool box – are sold directly via Walmart. That’s interesting.
Bosch tools were going to be included via two 3rd party sellers when Walmart launched the Pro Tools store, but they very strongly opposed to this after we reported on it, and the listings were removed from the program and I was asked to update my posts.
I was asked to update the post with:
But now, many Bosch products being sold directly by Walmart, instead of just being sold by 3rd party sellers.
Tom D
What about the other SBD brands? I seem to recall seeing lots of Blackened Ecker and Stanley on the aisles. Once a brand is it it should be easy to get other brands from the same company.
Mike
It seems like there are lots of items/brands on the Walmart website that you’ll never see inside one of their physical stores. Hopefully this is one of those cases otherwise Walmart will twist Bosch until they turn into pure blue crap. Trying to meet Walmart’s ever demand for cheaper items ruins companies. See http://riverbendjournal.blogspot.com/2009/04/wal-mart-destroyer.html
MT
I’d say this will not help Bosch’s brand, but Bosch is a weird beast. Their main retail partner (in the Midwest anyway, based on my experience of where I’d found the largest availability) is Menards. Menards positions itself as a big box HD/Lowe’s peer, but in terms of quality stuff lands closer to Harbor Freight. They sell _a lot_ of 2nd and 3rd tier stuff. So this might not be as big a slide for Bosch as it appears.
Tom D
Menards is great for lumber and supplies, but yeah, the tool section reminds me of a Harbor Freight, and warranty support in-store is … lacking.
Love the 11% rebates though.
Andy
So in full disclosure, we have no Wal-Mart’s within an hour of my house and I haven’t been in 1 for several years. That being said their website has certainly improved, and in that aspect they are almost a premier retailer at this point.
Tom D
Walmart has one of the largest IT companies in the world – simply internally supporting their business, and they have been steadily improving for DECADES now – and it’s starting to show in many ways.
https://anthonysmoak.com/2016/07/21/more-than-you-want-to-know-about-wal-marts-technology-strategy-part-1/
Bill
I hung on forever hoping that Bosch would come out with a decent lineup of cordless tools. Have always loved how they functioned and felt. It seemed that they were more interested in fancy advertising than plain jane offerings. I could no longer wait and I went with another better represented tool “color”. I have a few tools still but will find it hard to be drawn back to the brand, Walmart pricing or not.
Thom
I stopped following Bosch when they came out with the weird monster /superhero marketing campaign a couple of years ago.
Mike S
Why wouldn’t every brand on the planet, want to be available to customers via every possible channel – so long as the brand got the prices that they wanted for the products? I mean – even Ferrari, which long traded on low volume = (artificially) high prices due to the “exclusivity”, are working on an SUV, and they sell cheap track suits and Ferrari branded paraphenalia of all kinds b/c – guess what – they bring in more dollars. Its like the old Seinfeld joke: The Model X Limited – yeah, its “limited” to how many we can sell to people …
If companies like Amazon and Walmart and others are going to take care of the parts of the business that are not the engineering and production, and they greatly simplify the ability to get the product into people’s hands – why not use them?
Also – I thought that Walmart Blue and Home Depot Orange could have been silly reasons for something like the changes that we are seeing here.
As far as whether or not the Bosch USA marketing people make a lot of sense – marketing is about reaching new audiences and expanding the current user base. So – as long as the marketing doesn’t drive away current users, while achieving its other goals – its working. I doubt that most readers of this site fall into the “new audience” category.
Tom D
There are costs associated with each channel – especially with large ones like Walmart and Amazon; which is why many manufacturers prefer to work with big distribution houses and not directly with retailers.
And some brands want to avoid being “cheapened” by being sold alongside other cheaper brands – think how you’d react if you saw a major brand name appear at Harbor Freight.
Garrick Neal
Bosch does seem to like making specialized tools. Things that take a lot of engineering and development work, but aren’t going to sell a lot of volume. And, of course, expensive.
I’m tending to think they may be moving out of the mass pro tool market since it has become so competitive. Not that they will disappear any time soon, but development may continue to slow, and innovations other companies make will arrive in Bosch’s tools later. Who knows, one day we might even find them on Walmart shelves.
Stephen
1. If they become an in-store WalMart brand, they will immediately become the top brand. What’s that worth? I dunno.
2. Feeling out the Bosch lineup in the USA over the last couple years, there has been a slow but steady trickle of updated 18V tools. Some are lightly upgraded brushless variants as well as downgraded “budget” variants. Many of the untouched 18V tools are sorely out of date – specifically the circular saw, PowerBox radio, recip saw, impact wrenches and planer. The only 18V lines that have received substantial updates in recent years are the drills, impact drivers, lights and rotary hammers. The Megawatt Crew line of upgraded 18V tools first advertised in January 2019 has only been about 1/2 realized by now.
The tools are good, there just isn’t a lot of excitement IMO.
In addition, they lack an 18V sander, cutter, crimper…among other gaps in the lineup.
Perhaps they will use WalMart shelves as an outlet for the “old” or budget-priced brushed/de-contented tools and reserve the Lowes shelves for the newer, updated brushless models.
Raymond Kokesh
I don’t see a lot of excitement with the Bosch brand. Back in the early 1980s when I started in construction it was Bosch and Hilti as top tier but doesn’t seem like Bosch is the same in quality. I lean more towards Milwaukee and Dewalt.
928'er
“Walmart is now selling Borsch tools directly?!”
Not to me they’re not.
Friends don’t let friends shop at Walmart.
Frank D
I see it as a platform ability, since Walmart is trying to compete with Amazon. Does not bother me, does not cheapen the brand, … how many places can you buy Apple stuff nowadays?
What bugs me is Bosch’s freak marketing etc, and their ongoing refusal (what else can it be??? we’re not selling cars that need to meet safety regs) to sell more powertools in NA.
dave jones
I’m not sure whether bosch drill bits are common in america as i’m from the uk but they are excellent quality. Would recommend.
chip hershberger
Reading between the lines, my assumption is that Wallyworld is selling Bosch.
And not Bosch selling through,wally.
Or its a partnership, that gives Borsch plausible deniability.
Perception is a funny thing,Sears sold Dewalt for years as their premium lineup, but received no bad marks for doing so.
Their freak/weird name campaign was a turn-off for me personally.
They have several great cordless tools,however the quantity/or lack of is to low for me to attempt use their system.
Jared d
Reading these post makes this very clear. People just don’t get it here in the usa. Bosch could care less about the north american market. They own europe and asia and figure if they can make a few bucks in the US then great. With all the competition here in America those few bucks are getting fewer and fewer. Profit off of the metal products using the diablo name and continue to release new 18v products in the eastern hemisphere. People in Asia and europe are probably wondering why dewalt and milwaukee don’t have a bigger presence there. The way I look at it is that I’m lucky to get what I get and when they no longer have any presence in the US then I will be buying from Amazon UK.