Strong brand names and leading market shares; Good product and geographic diversity; Competitive cost structure; Product mix shifting to faster-growing segments; Substantial sales to repair/remodel markets; and Strong cash generation. Cyclical consumer and industrial demand; Mature hand tool markets, which experience systemic price declines; Raw material cost pressures; and Moderate risks associated with repositioning of business portfolio. The ratings on The Stanley Works Co. (Stanley), based in New Britain, Conn., reflect strong market positions in a wide array of tools and hardware products for the do-it-yourself, industrial, and construction markets; good geographic diversity; competitive cost structure; and strong cash flows. These factors more than offset cyclical demand, the price erosion that is endemic in the global tools industry, and the
