Some influencers and enthusiasts have suggested that Makita tools could potentially be sold at Lowe’s stores, but I strongly doubt that this is a possibility.
There are some shifts in the cordless power tool industry right now, with Flex seemingly being shoved out of Lowe’s stores, and there has been a lot of speculation about what happens next.
The two most interesting theories are that “maybe EGO is going back to Home Depot, and Flex along with them,” and “maybe Makita is taking the place of Flex at Lowe’s.” Neither seem plausible to me.
Advertisement
EGO was once exclusive at Home Depot. Home Depot made a surprise announcement that they were dropping EGO, and the next day Lowe’s and EGO announced a new partnership. Word is that EGO broke the exclusivity and that’s why Home Depot dropped the brand.
Flex and Skil are owned by the same company that owns EGO. Less than a year after Lowe’s and EGO announced their partnership, Flex tools launched exclusively at Lowe’s.
Interesting fact: Lowe’s executive VP of merchandising used to be CEO of Chervon North America, which is the regional arm of the company that owns EGO, Flex, and Skil. He also used to work at Home Depot as senior VP of merchandising. The tool and retail industry can be a very small world at times.
Flex isn’t going to Home Depot – I’d say the retailer seems plenty satisfied with Milwaukee, Dewalt, and Makita pro brands.
So the Flex tool brand is leaving Lowe’s and going… nowhere? That’s what it looks like.
“Ah, so Makita could maybe take their place at Lowe’s?” Why would they do that?
Advertisement
Around 2 years ago, Lowe’s dumped a whole lot of Flex tools from stores, replacing them with cheaper and lower powered compact tools.
Flex’s chief marketing officer, who had been in various roles at Chervon for nearly 20 years, assured me it was just a routine refresh. They left the company less than a year later.
Makita has been on a new trajectory in the USA, and seem uninterested in bleeding money to compete with Dewalt and Milwaukee at aggressively discounted price point products.
They have more name recognition than Flex, but would Makita thrive at Lowe’s? I don’t think so.
Consider Bosch 18V and 12V cordless power tools, which you can find at Lowe’s but not Home Depot. They also have a battery alliance called AmpShare.
How many Bosch cordless power tools did you see in Lowe’s stores for the 2025 holiday deals season? Black Friday? How many AmpShare tools can you find at Lowe’s?
Here are two big questions: would Makita tools bring more shoppers to Lowe’s, and would Lowe’s availability help foster sales and growth for Makita?
I thought of this – what if Makita went to Lowe’s and Flex to Home Depot. It seemed like it could be an interesting turn of events, but let’s look at the facts.
Has Flex brought customers to Lowe’s? Yes, I think so, but perhaps not enough for the retailer to keep them around.
Dewalt’s Xtreme 12V Max cordless power tool system hasn’t sold well enough to justify expansion. A Craftsman V12 cordless power tool system, with its existence hinted on every V20 charger, has yet to materialize, presumably because Lowe’s wasn’t interested and there’s not enough of a market otherwise.
Home Depot and Lowe’s have different ways of doing things.
Makita’s visibility at Home Depot stores is not what it used to be, but they’re still there, and they’re still well-featured. Some people do still go to Home Depot stores for Makita power tools, accessories, and now MakTrak tool boxes.
It wouldn’t be a good fit, for Makita to go to Lowe’s, and I really don’t see that happening.
As for Flex potentially going to Home Depot stores, I’d say there’s not a chance of that happening. If anything, maybe there’d be room for Bosch, either under their own label or under Diablo, but I don’t think that’s very likely either.
Saulac
Is it a bit concerning to know how brands depended only a few huge stores for their survival? Also is it really just Depot vs Lowe’s? Is Mernar or something is pretty big in part of the country?
TomD
Menards is big in the Midwest but they mainly run master craft and some Bosch; as a more budget retailer I doubt they want to go into major deals with companies.
I’d say Flex should rebrand as Ego Hand Tools or something if they want to shine.
Katie
I got my Skil 10″ job site saw at Menard’s. It was the lowest price I’d seen after looking at it for some months. Same price as Amazon’s reduced price, but I got an 11% cash back deal with it. Ended up being around $250 with the cash back deal (actually a coupon for Menards). Still haven’t seen a deal to beat it. I also like that Menard’s has the best woodworking section in their store. I once got a great deal on Knipex pliers there. Also, their electrical section has better quality products, etc., ones that the pros around here use.
I’m not a fan of Mastercraft, never got their tools, but they do have some good merch.
Robert
Menards is big in the Mid-West. The stores I’ve been in are huge, as though a HD/Lowes married a Walmart. Big box tools volume, etc, but also a a grocery section, some times clothing, and more. Lumber selection was impressive and much cleaner.
MM
Menard’s has ~340 stores. Northern Tool has ~140. Tractor Supply has over 2400 locations.
JoelLikestools
Menards is non existent where I live. I know at one point I saw that the large majority of TTIs (Milwaukee, Ryobi etc) profits were just based on Home Depot.
I think the other big Player is Amazon, but aside from some of the same brands as Lowes people mostly want to buy garbage there.
Rog
I would not like this, Lowes will treat them worse. Though I do wish HD would give Makita more attention. In my ideal they drop Ridgid and give Makita that space and marketing attention, positioning them as their more “premium” offering
Torite
Home Depot own Rigid, a very well designed product, so they will never drop
them.
Rog
Incorrect, TTI owns Ridgid’s power tools license. HD is only an exclusive retailer.
Daniel
Ron is Correct….
Ridgid is a subsidiary of Emerson Electric and Ridgid power tools are made by TTI under license from Ridgid and sold almost exclusively at The Home Depot.
I am Team Red and Team Orange.
Jason
Neither Rigid or Ridgid are owned by Home Depot.
fred
I think that the confusion exits because the Ridgid brand name is owned by Emerson Electric – but licensed to others for different categories of tools. For example, TTI applies the Ridgid brand name (under license) to small electric power tools sold mostly at Home Depot. Ridgid tablesaws and vacuums, however, might be manufactured by Emerson. Ridgid pipe wrenches are manufactured by the Ridge Tool Company – a subsidiary of Emerson.
Home Depot also seems to have a license to have tools manufactured for them and brand them “Ridgid”. This seems to only apply to categories of tools that do not compete with Emerson’s plumbing tools, vacuums etc. So, a shovel or extension cord sold at Home Depot under the Ridgid brand name can come from separate OEMs that have no connection to either Emerson or TTI – other than using the Ridgid name under license.
This has been said to have all come about then Sears phased out using Emerson as the OEM for many stationary power tools sold under the Craftsman name. As that was happening, Emerson apparently decided that Home Depot was the rising star and worked out both supply and licensing deals with them.
Scott K
I wonder if the fairly recent sale of True Value to Do It Best opens the door for partnerships or other changes. I’ve also noticed more advertising from Ace, “Home Services” trucks on the road, and the addition of Stihl tools.
Robm
Flex will be sold online through Lowe’s, and will remain on the floor in certain locations/ markets. The same will be said for Skil power tools through Lowe’s. Stores will begin to shift in the near future to reflect what brands they sell well and do not sell well per location and or region. Stores will start to get a little more power to have the inventory that sells in that stores location. This will apply to more than just tools as well.
AP
I’m guessing Makita and Bosch have a tough go of it in North America. I’ve seen where Flex wants to do online sales only of more compact tools too. How long until tool brands team up to survive like streaming services are doing? That’s a bit of a half joke.
TomD
I don’t see online sales being a major option for a brand that’s not present at retail; nobody is going to buy an unknown power tool and wait days for it to arrive when HD has stuff on the shelves.
AP
I don’t see it either but that’s what I understand they’re going to do or at least try to do.
Rob K
I wonder if Chervon has decided to concentrate on tool manufacturing and leaving the marketing to others. Maybe it’s more profitable to just make tools for other brands. Manufacturing and marketing are very different disciplines, and being good at one doesn’t make you good at the other.
Harrison
Yeah. Trying to introduce Flex as a pro brand out of thin air in North America was a boneheaded move. Lowe’s exclusive (temporary or not) was also a fatal error. They should have branded them Skil Professional or something and launched at pro tool retailers first- Then negotiated a big box partnership.
The tools seem great, I just can’t think of a single reason to buy them.
Patrick Johnson
All I’m hearing is nothing more than speculation. Here is a fact. Some Lowe’s locations carry Bosch SDSMax and Profactor. Some locations carry Metabo. We also know some locations are not having a Flex clearance, so it seems logical for Flex to be in some locations and not others.
Vards Uzvards
There is no sign of Flex clearance sales in our local store. But whenever there are online sales at ridiculous prices – 2.5 Ah starter kit + free tool for $79, or just the same “bare” starter kit for $49 – they do a local delivery, from the same store, or the one next to it (additional 2-3 miles).
PW
I hadn’t heard that Chervon was one the one to initiate the HD/EGO divorce. That’s a decision that’s aging like curdled milk. I really don’t know why brands seem so eager to rush into the Lowe’s kill zone. I have to assume some ill advised executive junkets must be part of the puzzle, because it never goes well.
Mark S
I don’t think Flex is staying at Lowe’s in any capacity. I saw here and in store and elsewhere the bare bones pricing. Thought about a steeply discounted drill kit but waited on it. All gone. Just did a quick search online in both my local Lowe’s and one 90 miles from here. Both have barely anything. A few stragglers that aren’t discounted but that’s it. Almost all of the many things they used to sell are no longer available. Light, band saw, grinder, among others sold out. What a fantastic marketing blunder.
I also wonder what the “black ooze battery ” situation did for their credibility…my honest opinion is I dont think it was that widely reported on or noticed by the novice DIY market. But who knows.