DieHard®, America's Most Trusted and Recognized Auto Battery, Now Available at 194 Meijer Stores

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill., Sept. 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Sears Holdings has entered into a licensing agreement to distribute DieHard® Gold auto batteries at Meijer Corporation's 194 locations. Earlier this year, Meijer began selling DieHard brand portable power chargers and jump chargers.

"We are bringing one of America's most trusted brands to more places and unleashing the value of DieHard," said Chris Caruso, GM of DieHard. "For more than 40 years, the DieHard brand has delivered superior performance that consumers demand with each turn of the key. Now we are strategically expanding the distribution of the DieHard brand to provide access to America's most preferred auto battery brand to more consumers when they need it. To achieve that goal, Sears Holdings has entered into a license agreement with East Penn Manufacturing to distribute DieHard Gold to Meijer."

"Meijer is pleased to enhance our automotive department with the addition of DieHard auto batteries," said Mark Carpenter, automotive buyer for the Grand Rapids, Michigan-based retailer. "Meijer customers expect the highest quality products at an exceptional value, plus the addition of the DieHard brand to our automotive offerings is yet another way we are living up to our promise of higher standards and lower prices."

In a 2011 Battery Brand Tracker Survey of consumers, DieHard automotive battery products were selected number one by an overwhelming margin as "lasting a long time" and "performing well in extreme conditions." Among all battery brands, DieHard led in consideration by shoppers, twice that of the next leading competitor. Also in 2011, DieHard Gold automotive batteries were highly rated by a leading consumer magazine.

Fun Facts about DieHard and Extreme Performance:

• DieHard torture tests its car batteries
  • In "Extreme Heat viral video," a DieHard battery is transported to the Mojave Desert where it is torn apart by a bullet from an elephant gun. Although the bullet squarely hits the DieHard Platinum battery at a velocity of 2,000 feet per second, the battery still has the strength to start a pick-up truck on the first try after impact.
  • In "Extreme Keyboard," musician and composer Gary Numan powers up a double-stack keyboard with a DieHard battery. With 24 black and white cars serving as his ebony and ivory, Numan plays a unique version of his classic rock hit "Cars," using the cars' horns. After the musical interlude, the DieHard battery is still ready and ignites all 24 cars.
• As the "Official Battery and Power Source of the NHRA", DieHard batteries start 8,000-horsepower dragsters -- the most powerful race car engines in the world.
• Since June 2011, DieHard alkaline/rechargeable batteries and flashlights have been sold through retailers in the U.S., Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.
• Learn more about DieHard products at DieHard.com and its mobile companion, mobile.diehard.com. The sites include a help center, an auto battery selector, maintenance guide, and a series of popular videos documenting DieHard battery performance under extreme conditions inside the DieHard Torture Labs.

About Sears Holdings Corporation

Sears Holdings Corporation is the nation's fourth largest broadline retailer with over 4,000 full-line and specialty retail stores in the United States and Canada. Sears Holdings is the leading home appliance retailer as well as a leader in tools, lawn and garden, consumer electronics and automotive repair and maintenance. Sears Holdings is the 2011 ENERGY STAR® Retail Partner of the Year. Key proprietary brands include Kenmore, Craftsman and DieHard, and a broad apparel offering, including such well-known labels as Lands' End, Jaclyn Smith and Joe Boxer, as well as the Apostrophe and Covington brands. It also has the Country Living collection, which is offered by Sears and Kmart. We are the nation's largest provider of home services, with more than 11 million service calls made annually. Sears Holdings Corporation operates through its subsidiaries, including Sears, Roebuck and Co. and Kmart Corporation. For more information, visit Sears Holdings' website at www.searsholdings.com.

About the DieHard brand

Introduced in 1967, Sears designed the DieHard automotive battery to produce 35 percent more usable starting power than other similar batteries. Featuring a revolutionary tough, thin-walled case of translucent polypropylene plastic, which was 50 percent thinner than conventional black rubber-type battery enclosures, the design's extra room meant bigger plates, more acid and extra starting power. During testing, not a single failure was reported in over 26,000 starts in temperatures ranging from sub-zero to more than 100 degrees, hence the name "DieHard". Recently DieHard Platinum batteries were named #1 by a leading consumer publication five years in a row. See more DieHard history and compelling "Battery Torture" Video at www.DieHard.com

About Meijer

Meijer is a Grand Rapids, Michigan based retailer that operates 197 stores throughout Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky. As the inventor of the "one-stop shopping" concept, Meijer stores have evolved through the years to include expanded fresh produce and meat departments, as well as pharmacies, comprehensive electronics departments, garden centers and apparel offerings. Meijer customers can find additional information on Meijer and shop for more at www.meijer.com.

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Larry Costello
Sears Holdings
(847) 286-9036

Dave Peterson
Meijer Public Relations
(734) 844-2775

SOURCE Sears Holdings Corporation