Sears and Whirlpool are ending their 100+-year relationship effective immediately according to several news sources. As one of the most well-known pairings in retail sales, Sears and Whirlpool hooked up back in 1916 to sell Whirlpool’s two wringer washer models. That was way back when Sears was a mail order company – and before third-party review websites were ever conceived.
It’s not just the Whirlpool brand making an exit. The company’s Jenn Air, Kenmore, and Maytag appliances are part of the same group.
Shifting Sands
But it’s the shifting market that is once again, cutting at the heart of Sears. Big box stores like Home Depot and Lowe’s along with online retailers like Amazon are making it much harder for the retailer to compete. This certainly isn’t the first time we’ve seen repercussions from the internet age as Sears and subsidiary, Kmart, have struggled to remain profitable.
By the close of the trading day on October 23rd, Whirlpool’s stock dropped 10.49% and is continuing its slide as of Tuesday morning. Sears stock has been on a steady decline since July, but the announcement doesn’t seem to be affecting it as much as Whirlpool’s. In fact, Sears stock had been trending up over the past few trading days but is pretty much flat as trading resumes Tuesday morning.
The Sears and Whirlpool divorce comes on the heels of Sears’ sale of Craftsman to Stanley Black & Decker and the very public news about Kmart’s struggles. It’s hard to ignore that the Sears and Whirlpool split seems like another step in the wrong direction for a company with such a rich history in our country. And at this point, it might be too late to turn the ship around.
Sears and Whirlpool Social Media Reaction
As usual, social media isn’t the friend of bad news when you’re on the receiving end of it and has a mix of reactions – some entertaining, others more serious. Here are some that caught our eyes:
https://www.facebook.com/rd.carrington/posts/1531175693584178
https://www.facebook.com/deadanddyingretail/posts/1708591165828730
https://www.facebook.com/lorenzo.cole.9/posts/1714816198543231
