- Sears will stop sales of Whirlpool products after the companies couldn’t agree on pricing terms
- The retailer will no longer carry Whirlpool brands, including Maytag, KitchenAid and Jenn-Air effective immediately
- Price increases would have been prohibitive, Sears says
- Whirlpool CEO says Sears were informed of the decision in May
- Whirlpool chief executive Marc Bitzer dismissed the move, saying Sears accounted for only about 3% of sales
- Whirlpool shares fell more than 10% in afternoon trading in New York, while Sears shed more than 3%
Sears will no longer sell Whirlpool appliances, ending a business relationship that dates back more than 100 years.
In a note sent to its stores last week, Sears said that Whirlpool was making demands that would’ve made it difficult to sell its appliances at a competitive price.
Sears has been ravaged by new competition for years from stores like Home Depot and also from Amazon and other online retailers.
Sears will no longer sell Whirlpool appliances, ending a business partnership that dates back more than 100 years after the pair failed to agree pricing terms over the sale of the products
The end to the partnership is effective immediately and includes the larger appliances and small kitchen appliances of Whirlpool subsidiaries like Maytag, KitchenAid and Jenn-Air.
Its stores will now only sell its Kenmore products and other brands like LG, Samsung, GE, Frigidaire, Electrolux and Bosch.
‘Whirlpool has sought to use its dominant position in the marketplace to make demands that would have prohibited us from offering Whirlpool products to our members at a reasonable price,’ Sears said in the memo.
The loss of the Whirlpool brand is another sign of how Sears, a one-time retail giant that was the go-to for purchases ranging from clothing to sewing machines, is no longer a dominant player on the shopping landscape.
Sears will stop selling Whirlpool appliances after a pricing dispute. Sears was once the top dog in selling refrigerators, washing machines, and other home appliances, but has lost its footing
The department-store chain will continue to sell Whirlpool products only until all its current inventory is depleted.
Sears represents about 3 percent of global revenue for Whirlpool, which is in the process of shipping its inventory to other vendors.
Whirlpool is having to raise its prices to cover higher costs for raw materials.
The company’s shares fell as much as 11 percent to $163 in New York on Tuesday.