Big-box retailers like Home Depot carry a wide range of products from different tool makers, but not every brand is available at the store. Some manufacturers have exclusivity deals with specific vendors that restrict the sale of their products to a particular chain or select partners, while other tool lines are actually owned by a particular company as an in-house brand. One such example of this is Kobalt, which Lowe's launched in 1998. It originally offered mechanics' tools but later expanded to offer a much
wider range of products.
To ensure that this initial line of mechanics' tools was up to the quality standards that Lowe's buyers expected, the retailer partnered with J.H. Williams, a historic manufacturer that has been a subsidiary of Snap-On Tools since 1993. The Kobalt power tool brand remains owned by Lowe's today, and so there's no chance that you'll be seeing its wares on the shelves of the retailer's long-time rival, Home Depot, anytime soon. It no longer relies on J.H. Williams to produce its tools, with many of its products now instead made by Chervon.
Many tool enthusiasts might not have heard of Chervon, but the Chinese company is responsible for a variety of familiar products in the U.S. In addition to the contract with Lowe's for the Kobalt brand, the manufacturer also has its own brands, Ego, Skil, and Flex. The latter two tool lines are historic names in their own right, and were acquired by Chervon in 2017 and 2013, respectively.
Read more: 12 Hand Tools That Are Actually Worth Buying On Amazon
Kobalt Is Far From The Only Store-Exclusive Tool Brand
Kobalt has been exclusive to Lowe's stores since its inception, but plenty of other manufacturers have also struck up partnerships with certain retailers. A number of tool brands are exclusive to one store, such as Milwaukee, Husky, and Ridgid, all of which are affiliated with Home Depot.
They aren't the only brands that the retailer has secured exclusive rights to, either: Its range of brightly-colored tools, accessories, and recreational products might be instantly familiar to most tool users, but you won't find Ryobi on the shelves of Lowe's or any local hardware store. Again, it's a Home Depot exclusive brand.
Buyers browsing their nearest Lowe's for the best Kobalt products have a plethora of offerings to pick from, since the tool brand sells over 1,500 items that stretch from lighting to lawn mowers. Just don't expect to find any of them for sale outside of Lowe's store network or its website, and certainly not at Home Depot.
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Read the original article on SlashGear.
