Sears and Whirlpool are ending their 100+-year relationship effective immediately according to several news sources.ย As one of the most well-known pairings in retail sales, Sears and Whirlpool hooked up back in 1916 to sell Whirlpoolโs two wringer washer models. That was way back when Sears was a mail order company โ and before third-party review websites were ever conceived.
Itโs not just the Whirlpool brand making an exit. The companyโs Jenn Air, Kenmore, and Maytag appliances are part of the same group.
Shifting Sands
But itโs the shifting market that is once again, cutting at the heart of Sears. Big boxย stores like Home Depot and Loweโs along with online retailers like Amazon are making it much harder for theย retailer to compete. This certainly isnโt the first time weโve 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, Whirlpoolโs 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 doesnโt seem to be affecting it as much as Whirlpoolโs. In fact, Searsย 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 Searsโ sale of Craftsman to Stanley Black & Decker and the very public news about Kmartโs struggles. Itโs 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 isnโt the friend of bad news when youโre on the receiving end of it and has a mix of reactions โ 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
