Sears Licenses Kenmore Brand to Drinkpod for Home Water Filtration Appliances - Freedonia Group Analysis

News provided by

Nov 02, 2018, 10:23 ET

CLEVELAND, Nov. 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- On November 1, Sears Holdings entered into a licensing agreement with Drinkpod LLC. Under this agreement, Drinkpod will manufacture Kenmore water filtration appliances and accessories, which will be distributed at Sears and other retailers in the US and select countries.

Peter Boutros, president of Kenmore, Craftsman and DieHard brands at Sears Holdings, notes, "The Kenmore brand is one of the most awarded and trusted American brands and is woven into the fabric of our home lifestyle." He continued, "These agreements are examples of our expansion strategy to unleash the power of these iconic brands in exciting new and developing product categories."

According to Freedonia Group analyst and manager of consumer and commercial research Jennifer Mapes-Christ, "Licensing is a great way for companies to extend the reach of their well-known brands into related areas. In this case, Kenmore is a well-established brand in home appliances, including refrigerators with built-in drinking water treatment and dispensing. This gives Sears a chance at additional revenues in the $835 million point-of-use consumer water treatment sector, and it allows Drinkpod to capitalize on the consumer awareness of the Kenmore brand."

Mapes-Christ said, "Similarly, appliance manufacturer Whirlpool has long had two licensing and manufacturing agreements in this area: one with Ecodyne to produce water softeners, central water filtration systems, and replacement filters, and another with Kemflo International to manufacture point-of-entry, under-the-sink systems, and replacement filters."

Freedonia Group analyst Dan Debelius notes some of the issues behind rising consumer interest in supplemental water treatment in the home surround water quality concerns. "In recent years, localized water quality issues, such as the lead crisis in Flint, Michigan, have gained the attention of national and social media. In addition, there continues to be nationwide concern over the possibility of chemicals from industrial wastes and activities, like hydraulic fracturing and mining, entering the water supply. With water quality on the mind of the average consumer more than in previous years, consumers who were once apprehensive to purchase in-home systems are now entering the marketplace."

Additional analysis of the home water treatment industry can be found in the following Freedonia reports: Global Consumer Water Treatment Systems and Consumer Water Treatment Systems in the US. For more information on these and other studies, please see Freedonia's Consumer Goods segment: https://www.freedoniagroup.com/industry-category/cons/consumer-goods.htm

About The Freedonia Group – The Freedonia Group, a division of MarketResearch.com, is a leading international industrial research company publishing more than 100 studies annually. Since 1985, we have provided research to customers ranging in size from global conglomerates to one-person consulting firms. More than 90% of the industrial companies in the Fortune 500 use Freedonia Group research to help with their strategic planning. Each study includes product and market analyses and forecasts, in-depth discussions of important industry trends, and market share information. Studies can be purchased at https://www.freedoniagroup.com/ and are also available on www.marketresearch.com and www.profound.com.

Press Contact:
Corinne Gangloff
+1 440.684.9600
[email protected]

SOURCE The Freedonia Group