Thread regarding Sears layoffs

Whirlpool pulling out their own brands is just the beginning

During the next several weeks there will be a transition to Daewoo and Guangdong Midea for Kenmore appliances (soon to be formerly) manufactured by Whirlpool. Whirlpool products no longer being available in our stores and on our site is Part 1. Whirlpool concluding their partnership and the manufacture of Kenmore appliances is Part 2, which will soon unfold.

The first Chinese-sourced Kenmore washers, dryers, dishwashers and refrigerators supplanting Whirlpool-souced products should arrive to stores by the first couple of weeks in Jan. and should be in full force by March.

Daewoo is already producing a few Kenmore appliances: a dishwasher, a slide-in range and a couple of refrigerators, most of which are Kenmore Elite. They will just expand across the board: low end, mid-range and high end, since the loss of Whirlpool would leave such a giant hole otherwise. Just about every dishwasher will soon be Daewoo-sourced. Refrigerators will be a mix of Electrolux, Daewoo, Midea, LG and Samsung.

Electrolux will continue to manufacture most of our freestanding ranges, slide/drop-ins and all of our wall ovens at this time.

GD Midea will be replacing the bulk of the top load Kenmore pairs that will soon no longer be sourced by Whirlpool. LG will fill the higher-end niche for Kenmore Elite top loaders and will continue to produce Kenmore front load machines as they do now.

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| 1141 views | | 6 replies (last October 24, 2017) | Reply
Post ID: @OP+PUk4XKb

6 replies (most recent on top)

And so life goes on.....I love my top load Kenmore Elite washer that I bought from Sears about a year ago. Great capacity.....only have to do two loads a week now of dark and one of whites due to all the space. I love Whirlpool, but they didn't manufacture my washing machine, and it is a really good machine. I believe it was manufactured by LG. Remember when we didn't know what Samsung or LG was.......it used to only be Whirlpool. I don't know what Speed Queen is other than to see it online, but I really am not looking for a washing machine to last 25 years. I keep my cars for about 7 years and would expect to get the same amount of time 7-10 years from an appliance. I actually like to see the new innovation that comes out which is why I love my Kenmore Elite top load washing machine and dryer.

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Post ID: @aud+PUk4XKb

Daewoo. What a great company. I remember when they made cars for the American market. My buddy owned one. It was a pos. After 2 years it started to fall apart. What's next pro scan and element appliances?

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Post ID: @wue+PUk4XKb

If the Kenmore branded product proves to be a winner for Amazon they could end up purchasing the Kenmore name from Sears. Who knows, Amazon might also be interested in acquiring the Kenmore experts to service those products. That would of course allow Sears to further fund the pension deficit in Sears.US and keep the transition bus rolling for an additional amount of time.

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Post ID: @uxg+PUk4XKb

kla - Eddie doesn't have to pay for it. Amazon has negotiated / is negotiating directly with manufacturers for Kenmore labeled appliances. So far, LG has majority of that business going forward. Sears gets royalties, delivery, service and warranty revenue - all without taking on inventory risk / cost. Amazon most likely gets all the margin between buying the product from manufacturers and selling to customer.

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Post ID: @gxp+PUk4XKb

The whirlpool Sears marriage lasted decades but counseling over the past 10 years has just led to more bitterness and now finally complete separation. The Amazon Kenmore rendezvous was likely the last straw. Whirlpool has now missed their forecast for consecutive quarters. While they are still very profitable, they are losing market share to the LGs and Samsungs of the world. Whirlpool has been in legal battles over the years with some Asian manufacturers over unfair business practices. Now Sears has given the Amazon platform to foreign manufacturers through the Kenmore name. Although Whirlpool has tried to downplay the impact, I am pretty sure they were not too happy about that.

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Post ID: @sfo+PUk4XKb

Sounds like Eddie sold his soul to the Chinese.

All well and good, how does Eddie pay for this?

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Post ID: @kla+PUk4XKb

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