HOFFMAN ESTATES, ILL. —
Sears’ private-label Kenmore
appliance brand took home no less than three prizes
in the Consumer Electronics Association’s (CEA) International
CES 2011 Innovations Design and Engineering
Awards competition, including a Best of Innovations nod
in the major home appliances category.
“Earning multiple CES Innovation Awards in key categories
underscores Kenmore’s commitment to delivering
best-in-class innovation and service to our customers,”
said Guether Trieb, president of Sears brands. “Kenmore
has a long-standing reputation for high-quality products
and these honors only reaffirm that.”
Entries are judged based on overall engineering qualities
related to technical specifications and materials, aesthetics
and design qualities, the product’s intended use
and function, unique features and how the design and innovation
of the product compares to others in the marketplace,
and the awards are earned by the products with the
highest judges’ scores.
“We are proud of how these innovations speak directly
to customer needs, making their lives better, easier and
saving [them] money,” said Kenmore brand VP Betsy Owens.
“We strive to provide unique benefits to our customers
and are proud to have received acknowledgement
from the CEA for each of these winning innovations.”
Kenmore’s Best of Innovations kudo went to the Kenmore
Elite dishwasher with interactive color LCD controls,
which features the first interactive, full-color LCD touch
controls with need-to-know information such as cycle
length and status, use and care details, and maintenance
tips. The 5-inch LCD screen is located on the top of the
dishwasher door and is hidden from view when closed
maintain the model’s clean, modern lines.
The dishwasher itself ensures consistent cleaning of
every item — and eliminates the need to pre-wash or prerinse
— thanks to an exclusive 360-degree “PowerWash”
technology which uses an innovative spray arm that extends
beyond the standard circular motion to blast every
corner of the cavity. The unit also features exclusive rotating
“TurboZone” spray jets that help remove baked-on
foods from pans and other items.
The LCD touchscreen can also be seen in new front- and
top-load laundry pairs that Sears is unveiling at the show.
Kenmore won a second award in the major home appliances
category for its Kenmore Live Studio (KLS), which
opened to the public last March in Chicago. Designed as
interactive community center, KLS brings customers face-
The Kenmore Elite dishwasher won “Best of Innovations” kudos in the CES
2011 Innovations Awards for its interactive, color LCD touchscreen controls.
to-face with the brand’s latest product innovations, which
are demonstrated during weekly events. The studio events
are also broadcast live on Kenmore’s Facebook page to
provide an interactive platform for two-way dialogue between
customers and the brand, Sears said.
The retailer’s third award, within the enabling technology
category, is for Kenmore Connect, an innovative
customer-service feature that enables select washers and
dryers to send real-time diagnostic information over the
phone to service technicians via sound transmissions.
The audible “beeps” can carry more than 100 data points
to help pinpoint a problem, including cycle and option settings;
the status of certain sub-systems; operational information
such as air/water temperature, estimated load size,
spin speeds, fill/drain times and unbalanced load issues;
and the mechanical issues associated with each error code.
The service is free to customers for the life of the appliance.
Kenmore Connect, and the brand’s other Innovation
Award winners, will be on display next month at the 2011
International CES in Las Vegas. Visitors will find them at
Kenmore’s 1,000-square-foot booth within the new Connected
Home Appliances TechZone space, and in the Innovations
2011 Design and Engineering Showcase in the
Grand Lobby of the Las Vegas Convention Center.
