In article %3kta.493707$Zo.109026@sccrnsc03,
Warren wrote:

Kenmore and Whirlpool are not synonymous. Kenmore is nothing more than a
store brand slapped onto appliances built by someone else. Whirlpool, GE
and Maytag are just some of the companies that make various products
that carry the Kenmore label. The question becomes: Are Kenmore versions
less expensive than the name brand because they take short-cuts for
Sears, or do they cost less because Sears passes along a buy-in-bulk
costs to the consumer." My guess is that it's the former.


I am no big lover of Sears, but let me take a moment to mention that in
some cases the Kenmore version of a product is more featureful than the
non-Kenmore product. An example of this is my garbage disposal, a Kenmore.
The Kenmore version of the disposal (made by Insinkerator) has an
autoreversing feature that is not found in the equivalent model sold under
the Insinkerator label for roughly the same price.


Manufacturers make Kenmore products to Sears specifications. It might be
true that short-cuts are taken sometimes, but it is not necessarily true.
Personally, I think that the Kenmore and non-Kenmore product is often
identical and the price usually reflects that.


Dimitri