Who Owns Kenmore Appliances?

Who owns Transformco?
Transformco is wholly owned by ESL Investments, a hedge fund based in Bay Harbor Islands, Florida, and led by billionaire Eddie Lampert. ESL Investments acquired the go-forward assets of Sears Holdings Corporation out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February 2019 for approximately $5.2 billion through an affiliate called Transform Holdco LLC. Lampert serves as chairman and CEO. The company is privately held and does not file financial reports with the SEC.

How many Sears and Kmart stores are left?
As of early 2026, Sears operates just five full-line stores in the United States, located in California, Florida, Massachusetts, and Texas. The last full-line Kmart on the U.S. mainland closed in Bridgehampton, New York, in 2024. A small-format Kmart in Miami and a few locations in Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands remained. At formation in 2019, Transformco inherited 223 Sears and 202 Kmart stores, meaning the footprint has shrunk by over 98 percent.

Does Transformco still own Kenmore?
Yes. Kenmore is the primary brand that Transformco owns outright. The company has expanded Kenmore's distribution beyond Sears stores through a partnership with Amazon (launched in 2017 under Sears Holdings) and a January 2024 exclusive distribution agreement with O'Rourke Sales Company, which brought Kenmore appliances to independent retailers, rent-to-own stores, and military exchanges nationwide.

What happened to the Craftsman and DieHard brands?
Sears Holdings sold the Craftsman brand to Stanley Black & Decker in March 2017 for approximately $900 million, retaining a royalty-free license to sell Craftsman products through its own channels for 15 years. Transformco sold the DieHard brand to Advance Auto Parts in December 2019 for $200 million, retaining a perpetual license to develop DieHard products in non-automotive categories and a supply agreement for batteries sold through Sears channels.

What was the Sears bankruptcy?
Sears Holdings Corporation filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on October 15, 2018, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. At the time, the company operated roughly 700 stores and had accumulated more than $11 billion in losses since 2010. ESL Investments won a court-supervised auction in January 2019 with a bid of approximately $5.2 billion, and the sale closed on February 11, 2019, creating Transformco. The original Sears Holdings remains in bankruptcy as a liquidating entity.

Is Transformco profitable?
Transformco does not publicly disclose financial results because it is a privately held company. Revenue is estimated at approximately $1 to $2 billion annually, and the employee count has fallen from approximately 45,000 at formation to an estimated 5,000 or fewer in 2026. Industry analysts have questioned whether the remaining store footprint can support overhead costs, and the company's supplier base has diminished along with its retail presence.

What is Eddie Lampert's role at Transformco?
Eddie Lampert is chairman and CEO of Transformco, roles he also held at Sears Holdings before the bankruptcy. He is the founder and CEO of ESL Investments, the hedge fund that acquired the Sears assets. Lampert engineered the 2004 Kmart-Sears merger and has been the dominant figure in the Sears corporate story for over two decades. His stewardship of the company has drawn criticism from retail analysts and creditors who argue his strategies prioritized financial engineering over operational investment.