The Kenmore® Brand Celebrates 100 Years Of Innovation

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill., May 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Kenmore, the brand that first made its mark on sewing machines in 1913, has become stitched into the fabric of American life. For a century, the Kenmore brand has been tested for living, from helping whip up birthday cakes to making post-party cleanup less work. With an eye toward the future and the benefit of 100 years of product and consumer history, the Kenmore brand announces new product innovations that meet today's life challenges.

"This is a momentous milestone for the Kenmore brand. We are proud that for 100 years, so many customers have put their trust in the Kenmore brand to be part of their homes and lives," said Michael Castleman, president, Kenmore, Craftsman and DieHard, senior vice president Sears Holdings. "With every generation comes new challenges in home life. Our focus at Kenmore is to continually offer the right innovative solutions that enable our members and customers to get more out of their lives."

History of Innovation
Over the past 100 years, the Kenmore brand has evolved through technology, style and the specific needs of every generation. Yet, one constant remains - all Kenmore products offer keys to more living such as greater convenience, better performance and time saved. The Kenmore brand history of innovation includes:

• 1929: unveiled the Gyrator, the first wringer washer that could clean clothes in three to seven minutes
• 1950s and 1960s: brought to market the first washer and dryer combination and a pre-soak cycle, respectively
• 1980s: first to release a major refrigerator innovation - hiding coils to allow refrigerators to be pushed back against a wall
• 2010: launched Kenmore Connect^® customer service technology enabling select Kenmore and Kenmore Elite^® washers and dryers to "talk" directly to service experts via phone to diagnose problems prior to sending a technician to the home
• 2012: delivered the industry-first Grab-n-Go™ door-in-door French door refrigerator

Beyond appliances, the brand has also focused on bolstering online properties to serve its customers before and after purchase. Via cookmore.com and shopyourway.com, Kenmore customers have access to shareable content, deals, rewards and tips. For more Kenmore brand innovations over the past 100 years, a timeline is available on cookmore.com/press-kit/.

Kenmore Today: Get More Space for Every Space
In 2013, the Kenmore brand is launching a suite of home appliances that continue the brand's tradition of innovating on what matters most. Kenmore launches a 33 cubic foot French door refrigerator and 30 cubic foot side-by-side refrigerator that offer the biggest capacity option^[1],[2] ever from the Kenmore brand delivering "more space for every space" in their respective footprints. In addition, the new Kenmore Elite^® dishwasher line up promises to clean dishes right the first time thanks to 360^° PowerWash™ and Turbozone™ technologies. Finally, the Kenmore brand continues to focus on doing chores faster and easier with its new Elite Front load washer and dryer that can clean and completely dry an entire king size comforter and bedding in one load^[3] and get it done up to 35 percent faster^[4] with the innovative Accela-Wash feature. Additional product details follow.

No Refrigerator on the Market Has More Capacity^[5]
Bigger truly is better when it comes to finding enough space and easy access to items in the refrigerator. The new Kenmore Elite^® Trio^® 33 cubic foot French Door Bottom Mount Refrigerator  offers a 33 total cubic feet - 22 cubic feet of fresh food capacity and 10.5 cubic feet of freezer capacity. No other refrigerator has more total capacity. In addition, no other three-door refrigerator has more freezer capacity or more fresh food capacity.^[6]

Additional product highlights include:

• Slim In-Door Icemaker gives customers more usable capacity with 100 percent use of the top shelf and the ability to store more in the door via convenient door bins. In fact, no other French door bottom freezer refrigerator holds more 12 ounce soda cans on the top shelf^[7]
• Two Exclusive SlideAway Shelves slide back to create more vertical space for tall items such as wine bottles and pitchers - more than two feet of total storage height
• CleanFlowª Air Filter circulates air through a charcoal filter to remove food odor and help keep the interior smelling fresh - up to 15 times more effective than baking soda
• AirTight Crisper with Moisture Lock retains moisture in vegetables longer when compared to a standard humidity crisper bin

The Kenmore Elite Trio 33 cubic foot French Door Bottom Mount Refrigerator (72092/3/9) is available in white, stainless steel and black finishes at the regular prices of $3,399.99 for stainless steel and $3,199.99 for white and black.

No Side-by-Side Refrigerator on the Market Has More Capacity^[8]
The Kenmore brand capacity leadership also extends to the side-by-side configuration. The Kenmore Elite^® 30 cubic foot Side-by-Side Refrigerator is the brand's largest ever side-by-side refrigerator that offers 30 total cubic feet, 30 percent more freezer space^[9], and room for up to eight one-gallon containers on its doors. No other side-by-side refrigerator offers more capacity^[10] or more shelf space^[11].

Additional product highlights include:

• Increased Shelf Space with full-width glass shelves that provide wide-open spaces to store food with ease
• Four One-Gallon Door Bins move to accommodate unique storage needs; no side-by-side refrigerator has more gallon door bins^[12]
• SpaceSaver™ Ice System is located on the freezer door, freeing up 30 percent more freezer space^[13], big enough to fit 10 more pizzas^[14]
• CrisperKeeper™ Drawers designed with an ethylene sachet, absorb the natural ripening agent given off by fruit and vegetables to extend the freshness of produce^[15] up to 25 percent

All this extra space and added freshness contribute to customers spending less time stocking and fewer trips to the grocery store.

The Kenmore Elite 30 cubic foot Side-by-Side Refrigerator (51172/3/9) will be available in stores in June in white, stainless steel and black at the regular prices of $1,799.99 for stainless steel and $2,099.99 for white and black.

No Front Load-Laundry Pair Provides More Capacity^[16]
Get more laundry done faster with the biggest front load laundry pair on the market. No other front-load laundry pair has more capacity than the Kenmore Elite^® 5.1 cubic foot Washer and 9.0 cubic foot Dryer Super Capacity Front Load Laundry Pair^[17]. In addition, the washer includes Accela-Wash™ technology, which combines the ActiveSpray™ and ActiveRinse™ features, that enables customers to get full-size loads cleaner up to 35 percent faster^[18] without compromising performance. The result, more than two hours of time saved on laundry day^[19].

Additional product highlights include:

• 5.1 Cubic Foot of Capacity allows for 28 extra-large bath towels^[20] or an entire king size bedding set including a king size comforter, two sheets and two pillow cases, to be washed in one load
• 9.0 Cubic Foot Super Capacity dryer can dry a complete king size bedding set in one load^[21]
• Steam Treat setting virtually eliminates the need to pre-treat stains by tackling common, tough, set-in messes with the deep cleaning power of steam
• Sanitize Wash Cycle is certified to eliminate 99.9 percent of certain bacteria^[22] and does it naturally without chemicals like bleach. The built-in heater raises temperatures to NSF¨ - certified standards to ensure bacteria are removed.

The Kenmore Elite 5.1 cubic foot Washer (41072/41073) is available now in white and metallic silver at the regular price of $1,299.99 and $1,399.99, respectively. The Kenmore Elite 9.0 cubic foot Dryer (Gas/Electric; 9/81072/white, 9/81073/metallic silver) sells at the regular price of $1,299.99 and $1,399.99, respectively. To learn more about Kenmore small and large appliances, visit www.kenmore.com.

For another great way to connect with the Kenmore brand, check out Shop Your Way^SM, a community that links members with exclusive content, deals and social shopping on an interactive website. Customer loyalty is valued at Sears with the Shop Your Way^SM program. To earn reward points to use toward future purchases, or to follow Kenmore brand announcements and happenings, sign up to become a Shop Your Way member at www.shopyourway.com.

For more Kenmore 100th Anniversary highlights including product information and images visit cookmore.com/press-kit/.

About Sears Holdings Corporation
Sears Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: SHLD) is a leading integrated retailer with more than 2,500 full-line and specialty retail stores in the United States and Canada and the home of SHOP YOUR WAY, a social shopping experience where members have the ability to earn points and receive benefits across a wide variety of physical and digital formats through shopyourway.com. Sears Holdings is the leading home appliance retailer as well as a leader in tools, lawn and garden, fitness equipment and automotive repair and maintenance. Key proprietary brands include Kenmore, Craftsman and DieHard, with a broad apparel offering, including such well-known labels as Lands' End, the Kardashian Kollection, Jaclyn Smith and Joe Boxer, as well as Sofia by Sofia Vergara and The Country Living Home Collection. We are the nation's largest provider of home services, with more than 14 million service and installation calls made annually, and have a long-established commitment to those who serve in the military through initiatives like the Heroes at Home program. We have been named the 2011 Mobile Retailer of the Year, Recipient of the 2013 ENERGY STAR¨ "Partner of the Year - Sustained Excellence Award" for Product Retailing and Energy Management and one of the Top 20 Best Places to Work for Recent Grads.  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.

Twitter: @searsholdings || Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SHCCareers

About the Kenmore Brand
The Kenmore Brand is an industry leader in delivering trusted performance in the home with smart and stylish appliance innovations that help consumers do things quicker, easier and better. Recognized as a top appliance brand for nearly 100 years, the Kenmore Brand continues to give consumers more time, efficiency and better results for better living with industry-leading products across small and large appliance categories. The brand also introduced the Kenmore Craftsman Live Brand Experience -- an interactive space in the heart of Chicago equipped to stream innovative experiences and events live online via the Kenmore brand's Facebook page.  For more information, log on to www.kenmore.com or www.facebook.com/kenmore.

Larry Costello
Sears Holdings Corp.
(847) 286-9036
[email protected]

Leah Eisenstein
Zeno Group for Kenmore
(312) 396-9766
[email protected]

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[1] Among leading brands refrigerator capacity measured through Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) Standards

[2] Based on capacity measured through AHAM standards

[3] Based on a King size comforter, two sheets and two pillow cases

[4] Based on 8 (8lb.) loads in an 8 hour day when using Accela-Wash option

[5] Among leading brands refrigerator capacity measured through Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) Standards

[6] Among leading brands refrigerator capacity measured through Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) Standards.

[7] Among leading brands refrigerators; based on Kenmore soda cans test procedure WI 4-73

[8] Among leading brand 36 inch side-by-side refrigerators whose capacity is measured through AHAM standards

[9] Compared to 25 cubic foot Kenmore¨ side-by-side models

[10] Among leading brand 36 inch side-by-side refrigerators whose capacity is measured through AHAM standards

[11] Among leading brand 36 inch side-by-side freestanding refrigerators 29 cu. ft. and above

[12] Among leading brand 36 inch freestanding side-by-side refrigerators with gallon door storage

[13] Compared to 25 cubic foot Kenmore¨ side-by-side models with standard ice making and dispensing systems

[14] Compared to 25 cubic foot Kenmore¨ side-by-side models with standard ice making and dispensing systems

[15] Based on extended shelf life of commonly purchased produce

[16] Among leading brands washer/dryer capacity measured through U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Standards

[17] Among leading brands washer/dryer capacity measured through U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Standards

[18] With Accela-Wash feature activated washing an 8 lb. load on Normal cycle

[19] Based on 8 (8lb.) loads in an 8 hour day when using Accela-Wash option

[20] Based on approximately 25 inch x 48 inch, 100 percent cotton bath towels

[21] Based on a King size comforter, two sheets and two pillow cases

[22] Per NSF International Protocols P172 Ð Sanitization Performance of Residential Washing Machines

SOURCE Kenmore