Stanley alleges breach of Craftsman contract in Sears suit

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. ― Sears’s new Craftsman Ultimate Collection line exceeds the troubled retailer’s “limited” licence for the brand, Stanley Black & Decker argues in a suit filed this week. The suit says Stanley, which bought the tool brand for $900 million in 2017, did not authorize the collection, and that Sears’ marketing disparages Stanley’s own Craftsman brand while fomenting customer confusion. In announcing Craftsman Ultimate, Sears touted itself as “the real home of the broadest assortment of Craftsman”, which Stanley says implies its own Craftsman tools are “somehow illegitimate”. When it sold the brand, Sears retained limited rights to sell a selection of Craftsman products. Sears has not commented on the case.