Milwaukee Tools Remain Absent From Lowe’s Shelves Following Decade-Old Dispute and Strategic alignment with Home Depot
Charlotte, NC – For over a decade, home betterment shoppers have noticed a consistent absence: Milwaukee Tool products are not sold at Lowe’s stores. The reason stems from a fractured partnership that dissolved into a $1.2 million legal battle and a subsequent, strengthening alliance between Milwaukee’s parent company and Lowe’s primary competitor, Home Depot.
The relationship between Milwaukee Tool and Lowe’s began with an exclusive partnership in September 2006,but quickly deteriorated. By 2010, the situation escalated when Milwaukee Tool filed a lawsuit against Lowe’s, alleging the home improvement retailer owed $1.2 million for products delivered before the partnership’s premature end in 2007,as reported by the Charlotte business Journal. This legal action effectively severed any possibility of future collaboration.
Adding complexity to the situation is the close relationship between Milwaukee’s parent company, Techtronic industries (TTI), and Home Depot. In 2023 alone, Home Depot awarded TTI its Partner of the Year award three times – in the Indoor Garden, Plumbing, and tools categories. TTI’s extensive portfolio also includes brands like Ryobi and ridgid, solidifying its position as a major force in the tools industry.
While Milwaukee tools are widely available at retailers like Acme Tools,Ace Hardware,Northern Tool & Equipment,Tool Up,and MaxTool,Home Depot remains the primary big-box retailer for the brand. Lowe’s customers seeking alternatives to Milwaukee can find competing products from brands such as Bosch, Craftsman, DeWalt, and Flex.
Notably, products branded “Milwaukee Hand Trucks and dollies” are available on lowe’s website, but these are manufactured by Gleason Corporation, a machine tool builder based in Rochester, New York, and are not affiliated with Milwaukee Tool.
Industry analysts suggest a return of Milwaukee tools to Lowe’s is highly improbable, given Home Depot’s reliance on the brand and the inherent conflict of interest it would create between the rival retail chains.
