Kenmore models regained headlamp?

[fan-of-fans]

I’ve noticed some Kenmore canisters being slightly redesigned slightly and they’ve regained headlights on the power nozzle. This is a welcome change, because I didn’t like when the power nozzles lost headlights when Cleva designed canisters first came out, and only the Elite models still had them then. The basic models like 200 series still do not but at least some of the mid range like Pop N Go models have headlights now.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/KENMORE...th-Hair-Eliminator-Brushroll-BC4030/331822829

 

[beagledad]

It looks like they have returned the hose swivel at the machine end as well. I'm just glad they are still being built even if they're not the best canister around. An average bagged canister is still better than the best bagless upright, or worse, stick vac.

 

[panasonicvac]

Their red BC4027 has had a headlight for a while now, and the purple 22614 hasn't gone anywhere. Not to mention the Titan versions have headlights but they're LED now just like the Cen-Tec power nozzles.

Anyways, that white model appears to have a King Clean made nozzle. Terrible choice if you ask me. Cheaply made, no height adjuster, and doesn't clean as well. I bet this is because Sears is trying to cut cost but why though, what's the point? Sears is history and there's nothing they can do now once the final store is expected to close down. Even if they're already looking for someone to buy the Kenmore brand or if it goes up for auction, I'm afraid we're seeing the end of Kenmore as I think the brand would eventually be dead. Not as popular as they used to be and their appliances have switched from quality to quantity, I mean these canisters have issues with the wiring and such. If I really wanted a Kenmore today, I'd just buy a SEBO who they once made vacuums for Sears. Certainly they're one of the only vacuums companies left who improves on their products.

 

[beagledad]

Sears hasn't owned the Kenmore brand since 2018. Transformco owns it. They license the Kenmore name.

 

[panasonicvac]

Yes

But they also own Sears as well. Transformco was formed to acquire the assets of Sears Holdings Corporation when they went bankrupt in 2018 so it's technically still Sears. Unfortunately that didn't last for long as Sears went bankrupt again in 2022. From my understanding, I've also read that Transformco is already moving on from the big box business to real estate.

 

[fan-of-fans]

My guess is the floor care line may be sold off at some point, given how many retailers that it’s sold through, it seems to still be a somewhat popular line.

Or possibly the Kenmore brand will be sold, seeing how Lowes has sold some Kenmore appliances as well as has Amazon.

And the DieHard batteries sold at Advance Auto and Carquest.

Anyway, there’s probably still some value in the brand name, so I’m sure they’ll look to profit from it somehow, whether it’s through selling the name and product lines to another retailer, or perhaps to a manufacturer like Cleva or some other appliance maker.

 

[ilovehoovers]

Am I misreading?

I thought Cleva already owned Kenmore?

 

[evolutionclean1]

Ilovehoovers

Yes, Cleva has owned and manufactured Kenmore machines for quite a few years now. They purchased the designs and molds for the canisters from Panasonic when they left the market, and even kept on several Panasonic engineers to keep everything similar. I have a sneaking suspicion that Cleva manufactures Sharks, at least they may have for awhile... The Intuition bagged upright is way too much of a carbon copy of a Navigator

 

[evolutionclean1]

Sorry,

I meant to say carbon copy of a Rotator lift away

 

[panasonicvac]

Transforco and Cleva are two separate companies. Kenmore only buys or leases from manufactures, always has. They never made anything themselves, at best they just helped design. Same goes for Shark.

 

[fan-of-fans]

Cleva along with the canisters, got the designs for the uprights from Panasonic as well.

However Cleva do not own the full rights to the Kenmore brand specifically, but I believe have some sort of licensing agreement to use it. They even did infomercials for the Intuition upright a few years ago, with no mention of Sears in it at all.

I do wonder who will end up with the Kenmore name if Transformco were to sell it. I don’t believe Lowes or Home Depot would be the buyer, although they may have considered it. Maybe Cleva would like to have full rights to it. Although, I was surprised to learn recently that the Kenmore small kitchen appliances are still sold online through various retailers, both models that have been out for a decade, and along with newer designs. It seems the small appliances are made by a company called Koolatron.

 

[panasonicvac]

Probably a Chinese company like Midea would be Kenmore's best shot at keeping the brand alive. Similar to Craftsman, they could still contract Cleva and other companies to still make vacuums for Kenmore. But honestly, I'd rather have Kenmore to be history. Again Kenmore isn't the same as they used to be and they never will again, in fact there's not a single Kenmore on the market today that I'd buy for myself. As much as I love Kenmore, there's just better options out there for me price wise even on the used market. In fact, on reply #1, there is more than one bagless upright I'd buy over any bagged Kenmore canister today. But in my opinion the best cheapest bagged vacuum, the CleanMax Pro CMP-3T for about the same price, would easily outlast that white Kenmore.

 

[cheesewonton]

Suzhou Cleva Electric Appliance Co Ltd does not own Kenmore floorcare. They are just a vendor. Kenmore and Sears Home Services are now owned by Eddie Lampert's hedge fund ESL Investments. Suzhou Cleva is just one of dozens of companies that make products for the Kenmore and Craftman brands, much as Panasonic and before them Whirlpool made Kenmore vacuums but had no equity stake in Sears Holdings.

That new power nozzle that comes with the BC4030 is a new product from Suzhou Cleva. I have one. The bummer is that Kenmore is not providing any parts support for it. You can't even buy a replacement brush roll or belt for one. I had a long discussion with Kenmore about this on their Vacuum Support Hotline ( yes, there is such a thing ). In their opinion nobody knows how to fix anything any more and they are of the opinion that owners trying to fix their vacuums causes more harm than good. Instead when the brush roll wears out or that silly hose in the swivel neck tears you are expected to buy a whole new power nozzle for $86. Yes, that is less money than the $95 Miele skins you for a replacement brush roll for a SEB236 but still crappy customer service to my thinking. And wasteful. Throw an otherwise perfectly good power nozzle out because the brush roll wore out. It's just wrong. At least with the purple 81614 or the blue twin BC4026 you can get every part for that power nozzle as it's made not just for Kenmore but with a different upper cover is mechanically identical to the Cen-Tec CT20 and the power nozzle Titan sells with the T9000.

 

[durango159]

That gray model PopNGo canister is a new style power head for the Kenmore lineup. It has a hair wrap prevention feature. This model is the only model of the series, other than the red plush pro power nozzle PopNGo that has a headlight. I have the navy blue PopNGo 600 that I got in February. I like that it has the swivel hose now as I heard there were durability issues with the straight down connection. I have been very impressed with the new canister with exception that the hose is extremely rigid. It's a very stiff hose that makes for harder to maneuver wand with floor brush or power head. Cleva has been the manufacturer of many Kenmore vacuums now for several years as they got rights to many of the designs that Panasonic had. With Sears essentially mostly an online retailer now with few if any surviving brick and mortar locations, the Kenmore brand has been sold at many other retailers to include Home Depot, Lowe's, Target, QVC, vacuum stores and more.