Is Sears Holding Corp.’s new brand strategy—by which it allows other retailers to support its private label brands Craftsman, DieHard and Sears Auto Center—a stroke of innovative marketing genius or a desperate move by a desperate company?
Sales will tell in due time, but Guenther Trieb, SVP and president of brands for Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based Sears, tells Marketing News Exclusives that while its new branding strategy is atypical, it could increase revenue flow and shareholder value. Ultimately, the company hopes to use this limited release of Sears’ brands as a teaser strategy to draw more traffic to Sears and Kmart stores.