Case Study: How a EU Distributor Grew Power-Tool Sales 40%

A family-owned hardware chain across Spain and Portugal came to us with a fragmented power-tool wall: three brands, four incompatible battery systems, and a returns rate that was eating margin.

We proposed a simplification. They standardized their cordless line on a single 20V brushless platform — drill, impact, grinder and a garden shear — all sharing one pack. The shelf went from confusing to coherent.

The result over two reorder cycles: attach-rate on bare tools rose because customers who bought the drill came back for the grinder, and warranty claims on the brushless motors dropped versus the brushed units they replaced.

Sales of the power-tool category grew 40% year-over-year, and the buyer reported that training new store staff took a fraction of the time because there was only one battery system to explain.

The lesson: in power tools, ecosystem coherence beats breadth. Fewer, compatible SKUs often outsell a wide but fragmented wall.