Sears Holdings is cutting its century-old ties with Whirlpool and will no longer sell the company’s products, which include Maytag, KitchenAid and Jenn-Air subsidiaries, according to an internal Sears memo sent to stores last week. The memo was reviewed by CNBC.
“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 wrote to its employees.
The Wall Street Journal first reported on the news Monday evening.
Sears said it plans to sell Whirlpool-branded products in its facilities until inventory is “depleted.” Meantime, Whirlpool will continue to manufacture items for Sears’ Kenmore nameplate, the companies have confirmed.
Department store chain Sears added that it will provide “tools and instructions” to its employees regarding how to deal with “excess inventory,” and how to move into its Kenmore or other appliance brands.
Whirlpool shares were down near 10 percent Tuesday morning.
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