Kenmore (brand)

Kenmore is an American brand of household appliances, cookware, floorcare, grills, HVAC equipment and other home items owned and licensed by Transformco, an affiliate of ESL Investments. Previously, they were a subsidiary brand of Sears Holdings, but after Sears Holdings filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on October 15, 2018, they were acquired by Transformco, formed in 2019 after acquiring the assets of Sears Holdings Corporation.

As of 2017, Kenmore products are produced by manufacturers including Whirlpool, Samsung, LG, Electrolux, Panasonic, Cleva North America, and Winia Electronics.^{[citation needed]} Today, the brand's portfolio is sold across Amazon, Lowe's, Target, and many other online retailers.

The brand first appeared on a four-drawer drop feed sewing machine sold from 1913 to 1919. The first Kenmore washing machine was introduced in 1927. The first Kenmore vacuum cleaners were introduced in 1932.

In 1976, Sears expanded the Kenmore name to its line of refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners, and dehumidifiers, which were previously branded as Coldspot.

In 2016, the Kenmore brand was expanded into consumer electronics with the launch of Kenmore-branded high definition (Kenmore HDTV) and ultra HD (Kenmore Elite UHDTV) televisions.

In July 2017, Sears announced that it would stock Kenmore products on Amazon, and also support integration between its appliances and Amazon Alexa.

In April 2018, Sears CEO and major investor Edward Lampert, along with his hedge fund ESL, offered to buy the brand along with Sears Home Services in order to diversify Sears’ already-strained assets. The hope of spinning off a stable asset, according to Lampert, is to increase capital in Sears’ portfolio, which would filter down into the stores, thus providing much needed income for the Sears brand. Lampert revised his offer to buy Kenmore in August 2018 for $400 million and without Sears' Home Services division. On October 14, 2018, Sears' parent company Sears Holdings filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection leaving the future of the Kenmore brand undecided. Sears continued to sell Kenmore products and honored warranties while the company restructured.

In December 2013, Kenmore announced the launch "of an entire new line of major kitchen appliances". In the following month, Kenmore announced a long-term exclusive distribution agreement with O'Rourke Sales Company to create a major appliances distribution network of consumer and commercial retailers within the United States that includes retail, rent-to-own, E-Commerce, hospitality, builder, and the military exchanges markets.