Lowe’s and Hitachi have announced an exclusive national sales agreement, under which Lowe’s will be the only national brick-and-mortar store able to sell Hitachi Tool products
The agreement is less exclusive than it sounds. Online vendors, such as Amazon will still be able to carry Hitachi tools as will regional brick-and-mortar vendors such as Menards. Only one company is excluded—Home Depot.
While the agreement applies to all Hitachi tools, the announcement places special emphasis on pneumatics:
The Hitachi pneumatic set will offer a complete variety of stick-style framing nailers, a coil siding nailer, a coil framing nailer and Strap-Tite Fastening system nailers for securing pre-drilled metal connectors to wood, a complete line of finish nailers (15-Gauge, 16-Gauge, 18-Gauge and 23-Gauge), and various pneumatic staplers along with a sub-section designed for driving collated screws.
The line will also feature a comprehensive mix of related Hitachi nails, staples and collated screws to complete jobs specific to local market needs as well as all the related Hitachi accessories, such as compressor hoses and pneumatic fittings and couplers, pros need.
This is not a new line of nailers. Except for the recently introduced Strap-Tite gun these are the same tools Hitachi has had for a while.
It probably means little to Home Depot that they will not be able to sell Hitachi power tools. I don’t know that Home Depot ever sold them before and they carry other brands that are more popular with pros. And Lowe’s has long been a major distributor of Hitachi power tools.
But the loss of nail guns and fasteners might actually hurt. Home Depot currently carries Hitachi pneumatics, which are favored by many pros. Lucky for Home Depot, they also sell other popular pro brands of pneumatics, such as Senco, Bostitch, and Paslode.
