Sears was once one of the leading names in American retail. Over more than a century, it grew from a mail-order catalog to the country's largest department store. Since then, a series of short-sighted business decisions caused the company to shed much of its market share. Sears' parent company declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2018, closing thousands of stores and selling assets in order to remain viable.

Following the bankruptcy, Sears was acquired by Transformco, a private holding company formed in February 2019 to purchase the company's surviving assets. The following are some of the brands that are still part of the Sears umbrella—as well as some of those that were di𝔉scharged during bankruptcy proceedings.

Kenmore

The Kenmore Appliances brand is owned by Sears but manufactured by various appliance makers. The brand has a long history of over 100 years, having launched in 1913 originally on sewing machines. Appliances include washers, dryers, vacuum cleaners, refrigerators, and freezers. Manufacturers include LG, Panasonic, and Whirlpool among others. Kenmore is sold throughout all Sears retail stores and, since 2005, in all Kmart retail stores. Kenmore's high-definition and ultra-high-definition televisions, refrigerators, and laundry machines are some of its top-selling products. Today, the department store chain announced it would start selling Kenmore appliances on Amazon.com (AMZN). Some of these Sears subsidiary's appliances also include integration witౠh Amazon's Alexa plꦺatform. 

Shop Your Way

Sears got into the e-commerce game through Shop Your Way, a free shopping rewards program offering millions of products, personalized services, and advice. Members can earn points through shopping online for cashback, asౠ we💜ll as connect with friends and family members as well.

Monark Premium Appliances

The Monark Sears subsidiary sells premium home appliances that, according to its website, "serve architects, builders, designers, developers, and homeowners." It has over 12 showrooms across the West Coast and Florida for professionals to take their pick of the best cooking, cooling, and cleaning appliances. Some of its brands sold include Bosch, GE Monogram, Miele, and Thermador.

Honorable Mention: Lands' End

Lands' End was originally formed as a sailing equipment company in 1963. The company expanded business operations to include casual clothing and general furnishings online and through mail-order catalogs. The misplaced apostrophe at the end of Lands' was a typo that couldn't be retracted due to budget constraints. Sears acquired Lands' End in 2002 for $1.9 billion in cash. The company expanded its clothing line to include Canvas, Sport, Lighthouse, and Business Outfitters. As the company grew more popular, Lands' End spun off into a publicly-traded company (listed on the New York Stock Exchange as LE) in 2014.

Honorable Mention: DieHard

This popular line of automotive batteries was launched in 1967. DieHard markets a medium-duty as well as a premium-priced heavy-duty line of automotive, marine, recreational vehicle, power sport, and lawnmower batteries. It also sells chargers, inverters, tools, alkaline batteries, and work boots. DieHard expanded its core business to include its own brand of tires. The company initially marketed its battery with a lifetime warranty and the claim that it was built to "last forever" when it originally launched in 1967. Eventually, the company changed that policy to include a seven-year warranty and two-year free replacement on its top-line battery. While DieHard can still be found in Sears auto supply and repair shops, Advance Auto Parts acquired DieHard brand for $200 million on December 23, 2019.

Honorable Mention: Craftsman

The Marion-Craftsman Tool Company sold the rights to Craftsman to Sears, which registered the trademark on May 20, 1927. The middle-tier Craftsman brand tools are marketed as a mix of quality and value for the average retail consumer. The higher-tier brands Craftsman Professional and Craftsman Industrial are specialized high-quality tools that cater to industry professionals and contractors. On January 5, 2017, the company announced it would sell the Craftsman brand to Stanley Black & Decker Inc (SWK) for $525 million, with an additional $250 million cash payment in three years, and 2.5-3.5% of Craftsman sales the next 15 years.🐲 The latter payments, however, are dependent on whether Black & Decker maintains and increases the market share of the brand. 

The Bottom Line

Sears was once one of the leading American retailers, and its downfall became symbolic of the pitfalls of financialization. After it was acquired in 2004, the new management prioritized short-term profits, cutting staff and quality to improve the company's balance sheet. After bankruptcy, Sears lost any of its prized assets, although it still has a handful of famous brands.