Posted on 08/26/2016 12:59:16 PM PDT by Hojczyk
Never understood the plan of Eddie Lampert.
They continue to downsize and limp along as the asymptotically approach zero.
Maybe there’s some financial engineering in there that’s making him rich but don’t understand it.
That’s all Sears has left. Sell them off and you might as well nail the doors shut.
Why not get rid of the lines that are just another face in the crowd? Like their clothing and home furnishings. Bland, nameless, uncompetitive.
At least Kenmore USED to have a decent reputation. And Craftsman was THE brand for home-quality tools. Put your money into sustaining and improving those brands and dump the rest. Cut way back on your store sizes and start selling quality instead of quantity.
And dump K-Mart entirely. There’s a brand that deserves to die.
I don’t know if anything is made by Kenmore. My front loading washer/dryer pair are just Whirlpool with different front panels.
My Kenmore fridge is an LG.
I’ve had good experiences with the standalone Sears appliance store near me.
Don’t get me started on mid-line GE appliances. Horrible.
My very first job was working for Sears, Roebuck & Co., selling automotive parts, tires, and accessories, in 1977. At that time all of those brand names meant you were buying the best products available, Sears Best. Sears would contract with the companies that made them and have them make changes to them, including better quality parts, and then place the Sears Best brand names on them. It made it easier as a salesman sell up to the customers once you compared the original name brand to the Sears Best Brand model.
In my case it was the Sears Roadhandler tires to the Michelin. Michelin made the Roadhandler for Sears and had a better warranty and tread life. Same held true for the original Diehard battery.
Most Kenmore appliances are made for them by Whirlpool.
Kenmores are actually Whirlpool and, of late, LG Korean made in China................
Some now are LG Korean made in China.....................
I have purchased Kenmore appliances for years as well. I’m probably one of the few who made money on their warranties. They replaced our fridge after two years with a brand new model. Except for the front loading washer, all of them have given great service. The quality has declined dramatically over the years, but they are comparable to other products with the same price point.
The majority of products are poorly made today, regardless of the country of origin and often the price. My wife wanted the best stove back when we had all the kids at home. I bought a Viking stove (cost as much as a car) and it was the worst product I ever purchased. Once a product proves itself, you have about 3 years before the bean counters take over and destroy the company.
Ace Hardware now sells Craftsman tools.................
Simply start selling guns again and watch what happens. I just recently walked thru a Sears in Denver and it was much better than I remembered it.
You can even buy Craftsman tools at Ace Hardware these days.
Have you bought a Kenmore appliance lately? They’re already junk - really bad quality, even the ‘high end’ stuff.
I have several Kobalt tools and love every single one. If I could only own one tool it would be my Kobalt double-drive screwdriver.
I don’t know about the ‘Kenmore is crap’ argument. We’ve had good luck with their products - plus, their offerings often have features that you can’t get on the name-brand ‘equivalents’.
We still have my Parents’ Lady Kenmore blender, quite like a VitaMix even though it is close to 50 years old...
Sears merchandise was just K-Mart’s, with another name on it.
We looked at a Kenmore washer a couple of years ago before Sears went out of business and were shocked by its cheap tinny construction and shoddiness.
I bought a Sears water heater 20 years ago. Two years and two months after it was installed, the liner separated from the tank and the thing was shot. I called to complain and they basically told me to perform a sex act on myself since the warranty had conveniently for them expired two months earlier.
I have not purchased anything from them since. They are circling the drain? TFB.
Good point. I should have said they'll get even junkier.
Got a new LG washer and dryer.
They run superbly.
Negotiated a 5yr full warranty with the Lowes salesman but after that I’m on my own.
Guessing they won’t hold up like the 20+ yr old Maytags they replaced, but those can’t be duplicated today it seems.
My daughter bought one of those Maytag Neptunes a number of years ago and apparently that was one of the worst designs ever.
Last Craftsman sockets I got (on sale and I know why) had crappy chrome. It looked brownish color. The first time I used them I was working in a wet area and they showed some rust! My old ones have gone through all kinds of torture and no rust.
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