Kenmore was only a name. Sears never made appliances. They bought from another company and then had “Kenmore” slapped on them. For a long time most of their appliances were actually whirlpool. If you went to Sears to lookup part numbers then the parts actually had whirlpool numbers. You could then use those numbers to buy the parts cheaper from whirlpool parts distributors.
Yes, Whirlpool made them. I worked in a factory one summer in college. We made refrigerators. I put in plugs before insulation. Black plugs Whirlpool, white plugs Kenmore.
You’re the reason Sears failed. If you like Whirlpool so much why don’t you marry it? Huh? :-)
And the budget brand of Whirlpool was Roper. Same stuff with a different label, and cheaper.