Unusual tools

Who would believe that a retailer concentrating its sales efforts primarily on tools alone could develop a business reputed to be generating more than $ 2 bn annually? Yet that is the amazing story behind Harbor Freight Tools, a California-based firm whose inventory of more than 7 000 tools and related items includes hundreds, if not thousands, of products not to be found in a local hardware store or even a giant home center like Home Depot. The company began in 1977, founded as a mail order business known as Harbor Freight & Salvage Co. in North Hollywood, California, by Allen Smidt, the father, and Eric Smidt, then a 17-year-old teenager. Today Eric Smidt continues to run the privately-owned business as its longtime CEO. He became its president when he was 25 and its CEO in 1999. What began as a single unit is now a multi-national business comprised of more than 400 retail stores throughout the United States, as well as being a national and international mail order and Internet-based business. Its stores are located in a variety of locations, some of which are shopping centers; others are self-standing units. They typically range from 1 000 to 1 400 m². They are conventional in their appearance and layout. The firm continues to expand, only this spring saw eight openings. Locations ranged from coast to coast – California to Connecticut, and Illinois and New York in the north to Florida in the south. Its customers range from consumers to industrial and commercial companies. Its inventory is so broad and diversified that in many cases it might be the only source known to its customers. At any rate, its extensive advertising often is the only advertising ever devoted to certain products. Certainly in many parts of the country, it might be the only “local” source available or generally known to prospective buyers.Sturdy fixtures are needed to support large quantities of heavy merchandise.Its extensive inventory is organized into ten categories: power tools, air tools, hand tools, automotive and motorcycle accessories, engines and generators, garage and shop needs, household products, lawn and garden, material handling and welding. As the above list indicates, the inventory would appeal to a wide range of consumers and businesses. Especially for consumers who might have a once-in-a-lifetime need for an unusual product, its web site and frequent advertisements would provide an answer for those needs simply by notifying buyers that such a product exists. Most of its merchandise consists of its own brands. It stresses “factory direct to you” pricing because most of its merchandise is sourced from factories in Asian countries. But these brand names sound as though the products are all American-made, for example US General, Chicago Electric, Pittsburgh Pro, and Pittsburgh. The business is one of the industry's most aggressive advertisers, placing full page, full color ads in major media such as US Weekend, a Sunday supplement for metropolitan newspapers, as well as national publications such as Family Handyman. It also produces and distributes multi-page catalogs, and single-sheet ads highlighting dozens of its products. In order to make buying easier, the company has simplified shipping costs. It emphasizes that it will ship all orders by FedEx within 24 hours for a flat fee of $ 6.99. Perhaps the most distinguishing element of this firm's success is the broad extent of its inventory. Whereas hardware stores and even giant home centers carry a fairly large inventory of hand tools, their departments do not come close to offering the breadth of assortment of Harbor Freight's 7 000 plus stockkeeping units. Nor do local hardware stores or giant home centers normally emphasize unusual tools in their advertising. This is one of the most effective ways in which Harbor Freight builds its appeal. Who else advertises a mover's dolly, a heavy duty steel floor jack, a 1500 lb. Motorcycle lift, a digital inspeciation camera, electric winches or magnetic sweepers?