Kenmore to Make Room for Brands X, Y and Z

Sears customers accustomed to seeing the retailer’s own Kenmore and LXI brands in the appliance and electronics department are in for a change.

On Thursday, 28 of the big Chicago-based company’s Southern California stores will introduce Brand Central, a “superstore within a store” offering an array of more than 70 nationally known brands including Sony, Amana, General Electric, Whirlpool, Toshiba, Zenith and Hitachi.

The shift is part of Sears’ push to win more customers and compete with rivals such as Montgomery Ward and Circuit City. With Thursday’s opening of 136 Brand Centrals, Sears will be more than halfway through a national rollout.

Since announcing a sweeping strategy change last October, Sears has met with mixed results as it has begun offering more national brands and moving away from frequent sales and toward lower regular prices.