Here's Who Really Makes Kenmore Appliances

For over a century, Kenmore hasn't just been a household name — it's been a major part of the conversation for all-time best appliance brands, ever since it made its big debut in 1913 on a sewing machine featured in a Sears catalog. In the decades that followed, the brand — which was owned and operated under the Sears umbrella – expanded its appliance offerings to include vacuums, fridges, freezers, air conditioners, laundry machines, microwaves, dishwashers, ranges, oven, cooktops, disposals, and more. Throughout the 20th century, the Kenmore name developed an industry-leading reputation for quality and reliability, as well as creating a huge draw for consumers to shop at Sears.

Sounds like Kenmore is a solid manufacturer, right? Well, what may surprise you is that Kenmore's appliances have never once been actually manufactured by Kenmore or Sears themselves. 

Instead, the brand has always relied on third party manufacturers, such as Whirlpool, LG, Frigidaire, GE, and more. By partnering with manufacturers that were already top in their field for each individual category of appliance, rather than trying to compete via their own research and production, Kenmore has become a more trusted brand than any of them ... despite the fact that, long story short, they've simply slapped their name on the competition. This raises a question: Who, exactly, are the major manufacturers that played the biggest roles in Kenmore's historic success? Who still makes these appliances today, and how can you verify a Kenmore manufacturer when researching and shopping for a particular model of appliance? Let's dig in!

As it turns out, Kenmore, who has boasted marketing slogans like "Smart. Stylish. Simple." and "That's genius" throughout the years, really should have just borrowed their brand's motto from a specific quote in "The Wizard of Oz" climax: "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!" 

Before the internet existed (and until Sears filed for bankruptcy in 2018, bringing Kenmore's questionable future into the public eye), it wasn't very widespread knowledge that Kenmore had behind-the-scenes manufacturing partners doing all of the heavy lifting, simply putting their logo onto appliances produced by other reputable, industry-leading brands. So who, exactly were these appliance-making wizards secretly keeping the Kenmore facade afloat?

One of the biggest and longest-lasting partnerships was with Whirlpool, especially for the manufacturing of appliances related to water usage like dishwashers and washing machines. However, Whirlpool and Kenmore parted ways in 2017 after over 100 years in business together. Other well-known manufacturers such as Frigidaire, LG, GE, Electrolux, Panasonic, have played large manufacturing roles throughout the company's history, though the various compiled and published lists of manufacturing partners have between 50 to 70 unique company names. Some of these additional recognizable partners include Samsung, Hoover, Maytag, Sharp, Jenn Air, Bosch, KitchenAid, RCA, Toshiba, and In-Sink-Erator. Perhaps the better question here, then, is who doesn't make Kenmore appliances? The list might be shorter.

If you're doing some appliance comparison research — or maybe you already have a Kenmore appliance and want to know who actually made it — there's an easy trick to identify the manufacturer of any of their products by finding the full Kenmore model number. For those who already own the appliance, locate the sticker on the product that indicates the full model number. At the beginning, you'll see either three digits or a letter and three numbers followed by a dot. The three digit (or four character) code before the period is the manufacturer code. From there, a quick google search of Kenmore manufacturer codes will reveal who made the appliance.

If you're just doing some initial research, it's a little trickier, as Kenmore only advertises part of the full model number. For example, while researching a white fridge with a bottom freezer, you may find yourself looking at an option listed as Kenmore model number 79442 on a retailer's website, which reveals nothing about the manufacturer. However, if you click through to view the user manual, located on the cover, you should see the full item number listed. Now, if the full item number is, say, 795.79442, that gives you the full scoop — because 795 is the manufacturer code for LG. 

So yes, you've to do a bit of digging to get past the advertised model number or SKU to get to the full model number with the manufacturer code. However, it's possible, and now you can make a more informed decision about whether Kenmore appliances are still worth buying, or if you'd prefer to go straight to the source.