Koki Holdings Co., Ltd. (former Hitachi Power Tools) has several brands in its portfolio (HiKOKI, Metabo, metaboHPT, CARAT, Sankyo, Hi-mac). All these brands have different personalities, histories and strengths. Regarding the power tools business of Koki Holdings Co., Ltd. there is on one side the brand Metabo which stays completely untouched. On the other hand, there is the former Hitachi Power Tools brand which is rebranded to metaboHPT for the US market and HiKOKI for the rest of the world markets. The reason why Koki Holdings Co., Ltd. decided to use two different brands for former Hitachi Power Tools is due to regional branding strategy as a result of existing positioning in different markets.
When we look at the European markets, both Metabo and Hitachi Power Tools are well known and both brands carry a wide range of power tools. Since both brands are already well established among the pioneers and leading companies in the European power tool industry, brand names and strategies need to be strictly different. That´s why Koki Holdings decided to go with two different brand names for the European markets:
• the existing and strong/well positioned brand Metabo
• and the newly introduced HiKOKI brand with all the heritage and experience of 70 years as Hitachi Power Tools
Hitachi Power Tools in the USA are a leading brand in the Nailer industry, also trading the majority of the range through Retail and Home Center Channels. Metabo are known in the Industrial Metalworking, Building Trade and Renovation, MRO, Concrete Finishing and Welding supply markets, which Metabo serves through Industrial, Construction and Specialty Distribution Channels in the USA. In this very situation Koki Holdings Co., Ltd. decided to replace the former brand name Hitachi Power Tools by metaboHPT to cover the whole US market – with the well-known and specialized power tool maker Metabo.
Put in a nutshell: It´s the Koki Holdings answer to the different markets’ different requests.