Genesco began liquidating Kress and closing down the Kress stores in 1980. The remaining Kress stores were sold to McCrory Stores on January 1, 1981. Most continued to operate under the Kress name until McCrory Stores went out of business in 2001.

Several generations of professional users have trusted Kress and its power tools for quality, reliability, and durability. Bought by Positec Tool Corporation in 2017 the legacy continues with a far more exciting future.

Johnson: Kress is a brand that's been around for many years, particularly in Europe, and our parent company Positec acquired the Kress brand back in 2016. We are launching Kress for the first time in North America for outdoor power equipment in the spring.

A new factory was put into operation in Bisingen, Germany, and manufacturing of stationary workshop machines began in 1964.