History
The Positec Tool Corporation was founded in Suzhou, China, by Don Gao in 1994.[6] For most of its early years, Positec sold OEM power tools to companies and brands like Black & Decker.[7][8] Gao wanted to branch out by creating a line of lawn and garden equipment using his own branding. Positec launched early versions of Worx tools in China in 2004. One of the first Worx products sold was an electric lawn trimmer called the Worx GT.[9][10]
Also in 2004, Gao met Tom Duncan, an entrepreneur and former executive at Vermont American, a company owned by the Robert Bosch Tool Group of Germany.[4] Duncan brought the Rockwell Tools brand name under the umbrella of Positec and became the head of the company's North American division in 2005. He would eventually sell both the WORX and Rockwell brands from the headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina.[11]
Positec initially had trouble selling Worx products to major retailers because those retailers wanted to sell them as an in-house brand (rather than an independent brand). In order to sell under the Worx brand name, the company decided to employ direct response marketing including the use of infomercials. The Worx GT electric trimmer was the first Positec product to be sold using an infomercial in the United States in early 2007. By the end of that year, the company had sold 313,000 Worx GT units.[8][10]
The first retailer in which Worx products appeared was Lowe's in October 2009.[4] By 2012, the Worx brand was in Walmart, Costco, and The Home Depot (among others).[5] Also in 2012, Positec's increased sales required the company to move its U.S. distribution center from Long Beach, California to Huntersville, North Carolina to be closer to the headquarters in Charlotte.[12]
