From what I understand, you are correct. I don't think there ever was a "Kenmore" factory. They jobbed out the manufacturing to other well known companies but did have their own specifications of how they were to be built. It's not different than buying a can of green beans with the
Walmart brand name sitting along side a can of Libby's green beans right next to it for more money. (I'm just guessing about Libby's doing it), it could be any of the other canners.
The point is that at one point Sears maintained strict guidelines for the quality of what they sold and if it were LG then LG would rely on the massive amount of people that will only buy a name brand and not a store brand. It helps the manufacturer to clear out excess and the stores to have their own brands. If it were poorer quality they wouldn't have repeat sales. It's a win win for both the retail outlet and the manufacturer. They absolutely always end up selling the same amount no matter who's name is on the can or the machine. With the exception of the massive number of times that they were practicing bait and switch sales. Where they would advertise something on sale and when you went they were suddenly out of stock of that sales item and it would take literally months, they said, for any of the missing item were to be restocked. Then say, but we have this great item for just a little more than that sale one and we have that in stock.
I had that happen twice. Once before I was married and I went in to buy an acoustic Guitar. When I got there they had one on display but couldn't sell it because it didn't have a Guitar Case that went with it. I said can't you order one and sell me the display since you don't have any here to sell. Oh, no we can't do that, they said. I asked to see a manager and after about 20 minutes of him telling me that the couldn't sell me that specific Guitar and my continuously asking why not, he finally decided to sell me that one but it might take months to get the case. I still said, I'm in no hurry so lets do this. I took it home and miracle of miracles I got a phone call the next day telling me that they found the case in the backroom and to come and pick it up. I still have both Guitar and Case that was 55 years ago.
The next time after I was married, we found ourselves in need of an upright freezer. Again on sale and out of stock the first day of the sale. They spent what seemed like hours telling my why paying more for the one in stock was better because it had a thermostat that allowed thing to freeze slightly quicker, where the one I wanted only had one, which, of course was below zero. I kept insisting that I want the one on sale in spite of their telling me that I would take a month or longer to get the one I wanted. I just said, that's fine I don't have anything to put in it yet. At the time we lived in a mobile home and the only place we had to put it was in a 10 X10 metal storage shed out back. Having plenty of time to wait I proceeded to run wiring from my breaker box to the shed outside just for the freezer. Yet another miracle happened, three days later they called and told me that the freezer had arrived and made an appointment to deliver it. For two years it chugged away keeping thing frozen solid during summer temperatures of over 100 degrees in that shed. When we bought our house we took it with us and it resided in our basement for 26 years and was still happily freezing away. I might still be for all I know as I left it in the house when we divorced and sold the property. Never needed any repairs after all those years. Other than their shutting down their catalog sales department that little trick may have contributed to the fact that the eventually dissolved.
The first washing machine we had was a Kenmore. When we bought the mobile home it was left their. The previous owners did warn us that they used that machine doing almost daily washing for their three kids and they finally moved because they needed more room but they weren't sure it had much life left. We used it for whatever time we stayed in that home and then brought it with us when we moved shortly after our first was born. It lasted for almost 10 years after that before it finally decided it was to tired to go on. I guess you could say the I was a true Kenmore fan. Everything we had after that was Kenmore. Our washer, dryer, freezer, fridge, stove, dishwasher, vacuum cleaner, hot water heater and I had a whole tool box full of Craftsman tools.
Sorry, for the length, I go a little carried away.
... which I still didn't love. As I said a couple of posts back, I got a Speed Queen when we moved 2 years ago. Top loader, dials/knobs instead of electronics, FILLS with water, and does NOT lock (so I can throw in that last item I had forgotten!) There isn't anything that I don't like about it.
