Hikoki, Hikoki. Sayonara Hitachi.

[Vann]

I have an Hitachi SCMS - and love it. Bought it in 1994. Had the bearings replaced two months ago.

I see this kind of comment a lot, but with all due respect, it doesn't really mean anything...

Well with all due respect it's contributing to questions like:

Does Hitachi have a good name for tools ?...

It's also a declaration of my interest in Hitachi (most of my other modern power tools are Makita)
(mutter, mutter, damned Yanks. Who let them on the forum anyway :roll: :mrgreen: )

I suppose, if quality's going out the window, then changing the brand avoids sullying Hitachi's good name - at least.

Cheers, Vann.

 

[AES]

With all due respect Tasky, a lot of the name changes you mention, especially on small things like "Marathon" are simply "international name rationalisation" - they've always been called Snickers here. Same with detergents as another example. Makes sense with stuff like that in reducing the packaging costs (and ALSO allows the crafty S.O.B.s to sneak in a hidden weight reduction/price increase)!

But larger, higher value stuff, such as power tools, do have a certain "Brand Image" (like cars for another example) so not only are the name changers spending "loadsamoney" (ultimately it comes out of the buyers pockets) to build a new Brand Image but also leads sceptics like me to ask "If they've changed the name what else have they changed? I bet it's NOT a quality increase!"

In my own work lifetime I have seen a number of company name/brand name changes and I can assure you it often purely comes down to the arrogance and greed of a new "chief investor" - just as Eric has already so eloquently put it.

(Anyway, I'm a musty, frusty, 73 year old pedantic so I automatically reject change just on principle)

 

[Deadeye]

You doo the Hikoki koki and you turn around...

 

[Inspector]

Too bad as they made good tools but never got the market that Makita got. I have 3 power tools from the early/mid 80's ( 2 orbital sanders and a planer/jointer) so I suppose it might be wise of me to order some spare brushes, new sanding pads, bearings for the planer and maybe another set of blades before some dipstick decides to toss all the spare parts stock in the ware houses. I've seen all this before with the Black and Decker, Rockwell, Delta, Stanley, Skill, Porter Cable, Ryobi, et cetera. I'm not as familiar with Europe but wasn't Elu a name that went off in that kind of corporate money game?

Pete

 

[PUtcvNqa]

"everyone who works, partners and purchases from Koki Holdings feels fortunate for having done so"

well if you can't feel fortunate when dealing with Koki Holdings I don't know what the worlds coming to

 

[AES]

Like I said before "marketing yukspeak pure"!

 

[large red]

You doo the Hikoki koki and you turn around...

=D>

 

[Steve Maskery]

Anyway, I'm a musty, frusty, 73 year old pedantic so I automatically reject change just on principle

Actually, I'd like to point out that you are actually a musty, frusty, 73 year old pedant (just on principle).

From one pedant to another

 

[AES]

Thanks for even noticing my typo Steve - I missed it (you pedant you)

 

[will1983]

So, you spend what's probably tens of millions, over decades, building a brand, and then mess with it, dramatically.

Thing is, I've already been seeing HiKOKI branded tools in use by normal consumers on YouTube for a good while now, which suggests this is just another alignment of differing names in different markets, like most of my examples above.

I think these are people lready sponsored by Hitachi/Hikoko who have been sent a load of the new rebranded tools as part of the brand renaming advertisement. Laura Kampf and Keith Brown spring to mind the lucky so-and-so's!!

 

[Droogs]

got my first hikoki advert from screwfix this morning. nothing about selling off the hitachi stuff cheap tho

 

[Neil S]

I saw HiKoki products on Toolstation last night. I noticed the name and product looked very similar to the Hitachi offerings. My first thought was that this must be some cheap copy cat product trying to pass itself off as a Hitachi. Therefore one to avoid.

PS I thought Metabo were a quality German brand. Have they sold out and are they now to be avoided as well?

-Neil

 

[Tasky]

With all due respect Tasky, a lot of the name changes you mention, especially on small things like "Marathon" are simply "international name rationalisation"

That was one of my theories, yes.

In my own work lifetime I have seen a number of company name/brand name changes and I can assure you it often purely comes down to the arrogance and greed of a new "chief investor" - just as Eric has already so eloquently put it.

Quite probably... but it's still not the end of the world as we know it.

I think these are people lready sponsored by Hitachi/Hikoko who have been sent a load of the new rebranded tools as part of the brand renaming advertisement. Laura Kampf and Keith Brown spring to mind the lucky so-and-so's!!

Don't know Keith, but I have seen Laura with one.
But I've also seen a few others though, who I really cannot imagine are seriously presenting their work as high quality examples of artisan crafting...!!