Cheese
Member
And I'm sure the Vac Sys is still lurking around somewhere.Ohh, good point. I had forgotten about the Wall of Festool in the Classroom. It's been more than 10 yrs since I was there.
Festool Live is DEAD.
- Thread starter onocoffee
- Start date
onocoffee
Member
I always presumed that is one of their training rooms. If that is the case, I would expect they would continue using the space and the systainers as is.
Mark Katz
Member
So, is anyone wondering what the future of Festool in the US is?
onocoffee
Member
I don't think that FestoolUSA/Canada is going away any time soon. The US is one of the company's strongest markets and probably a significant reason they've been pushing more towards cordless and even reducing certain prices. Perhaps Germany is realizing that the North American market is truly different than Europe and needs a different approach.
But, I don't think we can ignore recent trends within the United States that have created tensions in the marketplace, like the tariffs - which push an already pricey product line even higher while most Americans are feeling the crunch from increased costs on all fronts.
For the professional who is using the tools as part of their income generation the expense of Festool (or any tool company's products) is offset by the mission, the revenue and that the expense is used to offset the company's tax burden. This is vastly different than the model the enthusiast follows.
It seems that Festool USA has scaled back or eliminated parts of their marketing team, probably in lieu of new people with a different approach, but it doesn't seem as though they are looking to exit the market.
Vondawg
Member
What about this Dusty Lumber Co. on YouTube ? Using only Festool (s) and seems to promote but in a ‘in the shop’ kind of way
I think Dusty will help market any brand. Lately I have seen a bunch of Mafell.
Peter
Peter
Imemiter
Member
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They're down two outlets in Portland, but that still leaves seven or so counting paint stores. Aside from the big store brands I can't think of a tool company with more retail shelf space than Festool. My take on the marketing shake up is that it's a good thing. Best wishes going forward to everyone but it was time for a change.
onocoffee
Member
Well, with the recent releases of personnel last week, it seems that they're ready for anew:
A Director of Digital Marketing and Product Marketing Content Specialist (with a bilingual Spanish requirement). Perhaps FTUSA feels that they have been neglectful of a large segment of their potential user base here? Perhaps we'll see a "Festool en VIVO!" program.
A Director of Digital Marketing and Product Marketing Content Specialist (with a bilingual Spanish requirement). Perhaps FTUSA feels that they have been neglectful of a large segment of their potential user base here? Perhaps we'll see a "Festool en VIVO!" program.
Mini Me
Member
From an Australian POV the in-store displays are mostly aimed at the hobbyist and the reps do the commercial sales which we never see. I have never seen any proof but of the two I reckon the commercial market is way bigger and far more important.
luvmytoolz
Member
I was talking about this at a local Sydney's Tools shop here in OZ when I picked up my TPC/TID combo kit. They have a pretty big wall of Festool stuff for display, but very little in stock, most stuff needed to be ordered in which is super annoying and a waste of time and warranty length, the last which really irks me.
They did though have Milwaukee gear stacked high everywhere, and they said it's by far the biggest seller of all the brands, by a massive margin.
CloudFlare
Member
FestoolUSA team has no idea what they're doing. First they ditch the professional users (their main audience) for the DIY audience which has been a complete fail (we all knew this would happen), so now they're aiming at the hispanic population, which will also be a failure because while the Hispanic guys are some seriously hard workers, a lot of them have no quality, they're all about speed, and they certainly don't pay out for high dollar tools. They run their tools hard, which is why they will buy a Makita circular saw that can be replaced for $100USD in a few years, versus a $500USD Festool.
Their CEO Clint Chapman has done a horrible job and none of the current people at the USA HQ seem to have any idea of what they're doing. They simply throw darts at the wall and seeing where it sticks, thats the new business plan.
CloudFlare
Member
BINGO! I thought i was the only one. All of a sudden, he has made himself a couple at home cabinets and the guy is out here making videos "cabinets have never been easier" spewing out advice as if hes some professional. Just watch some in depth videos like him installing his own floor with some terribly placed joints and you quickly see through his BS.
At one point, he was pushing Harvey equipment because they were giving him free machinery and a large monthly check of $3000-4000 for his work. Once that came to a stop, he suddenly gets rid of all his harvey equipment for hammer/felder. Zero accountability, its all about the money for him.
Now he is on a podcast with sedge and ronnie, and the three gel quite nicely as they're all somewhat similar personalities and all have major drinking problems. Seems as jason has recently gone on a "no alcohol journey" with his new found coach, but the dude would be sporting a beer at 11:00AM at a casual woodworking event. I never saw him drink if he was doing a demo for festool. Hope his journey goes well, he looks tired and needs it. Sedge, its apart of his personality, hes a nice guy cant say anything bad. Ronnie, the guy exploited his son for views on instagram, and now is all over festool like a rash for constant freebies and is so desperate to be included.
Cheese
Member
Well that's an interesting perspective and maybe not that far off from the opinion of Festool Marketing that I've publicly held for the last 10 years. I always thought the disconnect was that their corporate marketing team only spoke German.
CloudFlare
Member
haha! The usa marketing team is only responsible for photos and videos inside of festool usa. The influencer program is a 3rd party company and that rep is a typical Gen Z person who only wants to see numbers, nothing else, and thats exactly why they've gone through these influencers like underwear! Rinse and repeat, something they've been doing since 2007!Well that's an interesting perspective and maybe not that far off from the opinion of Festool Marketing that I've publicly held for the last 10 years. I always thought the disconnect was that their corporate marketing team only spoke German.
CloudFlare
Member
Dusty will rep anyone who throws free items at him. Mafell, Festool, Bott, Titebond, etc.
Bott, who makes van shelving, sent him a ton of stuff but it was pointless as the guy doesnt have a van.
Its amazing how much they will throw at the guy. He has no talent. What have you ever seen him build other than a mock-up mortise and tenon joint?
Seeing him at the Festool build off was embarrassing, but those build off events are quite great at exposing who does it for a living and has talent, and who does it for content. RusticGrainTampa who builds cabinets in his Florida based shop was another one. Looked like a lost dog, but on instagram hes constantly showing off new tools and techniques like hes been doing this his whole life. Usual influencer BS
CloudFlare
Member
He was an intern. It was a requirement to intern at a job to depart from the Army as he entered retirement
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