Sears Holdings Corp., which filed for chapter 11 protection last month, said yesterday that it would license out the manufacturing of some its Kenmore and DieHard products to third parties, Reuters reported. The company said that the outsourcing of the manufacturing of products such as Kenmore water filtration appliances and DieHard electric vehicle chargers would increase the reach of the brands at U.S. retailers. Terms of the licensing deal were not disclosed. The Kmart-owner’s bankruptcy filing followed a decade of revenue declines, hundreds of store closures and years of deals by Chief Executive Officer Eddie Lampert in an attempt to turn around the company he acquired in 2005 for $11 billion.
