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BadgerSituation t1_j0typ6o wrote

Reply to comment by PuckSR in TIL that in 1983, Purina's Chuck Wagon dog food was given a promotional video game for the Atari 2600 called "Chase the Chuck Wagon". It could only be received by proof of purchase labels and is considered the "Holy Grail" of Atari 2600 video game collecting. by ZootyCutie

> Their Kenmore appliances were whirlpool

Holy shit. Is that why Kenmore is a thing?

I'm in Europe, where we don't even have Sears (to my knowledge), but we do have Kenmore products and they're always just other brands under the Kenmore name for reasons I never understood.

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PuckSR t1_j0uenlb wrote

Yes. Sears basically came up with the idea of "re-badging". Basically, generic store brands for appliances, tools, etc.

Kenmore isn't exclusively Whirlpool. It depended on the product. They also had a lot of Electrolux too(the sister company of Husqvarna, so it makes sense)

Nowadays, the practice is more common. Even a lot of popular brands have their own rebadged brands, particularly in tools

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BadgerSituation t1_j0uimnv wrote

> Kenmore isn't exclusively Whirlpool

Yeah. That I know.

It's just always baffled me as to why.

And it's now more baffling.

Companies, with respected names here in Europe, are being rebranded under a name created by an American store, to be sold under that less-well-known name, to European customers, where that store doesn't exist.

Obviously "money" is the answer, but I can't see how.

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PuckSR t1_j0ujqqv wrote

Well, take Electrolux as an example of why this happens.
Electrolux is a well-respected brand in Europe, but they sell under all of these brand names in Europe.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrolux#Brands

They use it as a way to differentiate their lines(using old names). So instead of needing to sell "Electrolux crappy" and "Electrolux fancy", they just sell it under the alternative brand names. That way, dumb people won't get mad at the entire brand just because their cheap unit failed on them.

Prior to this practice, one company might dominate the "cheap" sector, while another company dominated the "high end" sector for a given product. By using these sub-brands, one company can make both and maintain their reputation.

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BadgerSituation t1_j0ulnic wrote

Ah, OK. Thanks.

I don't like it, but at least it makes sense.

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PuckSR t1_j0unme1 wrote

Yeah, now Kenmore enters the chat. It is basically a zombie brand. What does that mean? It means that it is a former defunct company's name that they can use to maybe push some products. I dont know about Kenmore in Europe, but I would guess it is being applied to cheaper appliances.

See, when Electrolux goes to launch a new line, they don't just want to make up a name no one has ever heard of. So, they pay a couple thousand dollars and buy a brand name from a dead company. Then they slap that on their new line and people are a little more comfortable buying it.

The most egregious example of this in the USA was the brand "GE". GE was an industrial juggernaut in the US. They made everything from nuclear reactors to trains. However, they didn't sell very much in the consumer space. So, several companies bought the license to use their name on products like TVs.

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