HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill., March 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- It is no surprise that equipping homes with the latest green innovations in the kitchen and laundry room is smart for the environment. What may be more astonishing is the length to which Sears goes to help put some green in shoppers' wallets. Today, Sears, the leading retailer of ENERGY STAR(R) qualified appliances, announced a program to help educate Americans about the millions of dollars in rebates that are available for ENERGY STAR rated products and make it faster to receive these rebates.
"Each passing day, Americans are getting more energy efficient--a trend that Sears hopes to contribute to by offering increased customer education and simplified shopping experiences," said Bruce Johnson, interim CEO and president, Sears Holdings Corp. "The money, wattage and water savings that customers obtain after installing an energy efficient appliance are a powerful reminder of the significant impact customers can have when making individual choices about the appliances they purchase for their kitchens and laundry rooms each year. These are significant improvements we are each making, one appliance at a time."
To help enable a more efficient rebate process, Sears is introducing an online ENERGY STAR Rebate Center. This user-friendly and easily-identified research area is available in most Sears full-line stores and is a result of a "summit" meeting Sears held recently with the Department of Energy and the nation's top utility companies.
Sears found that after an ENERGY STAR qualified appliance purchase, customers often leave the store faced with the task of completing rebate forms at home. As a solution for customers, the Sears Blue Appliance Crew will walk customers through the process online while in the store, eliminating the need to take tear pad sheets home and mail in their rebates, thus putting time back in customer's busy schedules and enabling them to receive their rebates sooner.
"Many people who are shopping for an appliance are unaware that there are literally millions of dollars available - money that utilities and states would love to pass along to customers," said Kevin Brown, CMO of Appliances for Sears. "With Sears new ENERGY STAR Rebate Center, the Blue Appliance Crew can quickly determine while you're in the store, if you qualify for a rebate by entering your zip code. That's something our customers really appreciate."
Not only is Sears handling the rebate process for you in in-store, the company is also making it easier for customers who are researching their purchase online to determine the maximum rebate available on an appliance purchase. Customers can learn if the appliances they are interested in qualify for rebates by going to sears.com/appliances and clicking on "Rebate Finder".
"We listened to our customers and know that they want to do the right thing by purchasing ENERGY STAR qualified products," explained Doug Moore, senior vice president and president of Home Appliances at Sears. "Using Sears Blue Appliance Crew members as a resource to assist customers before they go home encourages them to make environmentally smart purchases, simplifies the shopping experience and rewards their decision to purchase an ENERGY STAR rated appliance. Shoppers deserve their rebate money, and we want to make it as easy as possible."
Sears has demonstrated its commitment to increasing America's energy efficiency through its actions over more than 10 years. In 2008 alone, Sears Kenmore ENERGY STAR rated appliances helped save America nearly 700 million Kilowatt hours, over four billion gallons of water, and over $100 million dollars. Sears sells more ENERGY STAR rated appliances than any other retailer. In fact, in 2008, Sears was the first retailer to sell more than 3.1 million ENERGY STAR qualified appliances from the nation's top eight brands, including Kenmore, the nation's leading appliance brand.
About Sears Holdings Corporation
Sears Holdings Corporation is the nation's fourth largest broadline retailer with approximately 3,800 full-line and specialty retail stores in the United States and Canada. Sears Holdings is the leading home appliance retailer as well as a leader in tools, lawn and garden, home electronics and automotive repair and maintenance. Key proprietary brands include Kenmore, Craftsman and DieHard, and a broad apparel offering, including such well-known labels as Lands' End, Jaclyn Smith and Joe Boxer, as well as the Apostrophe and Covington brands. It also has Martha Stewart Everyday products, which are offered exclusively in the U.S. by Kmart. We are the nation's largest provider of home services, with more than 12 million service calls made annually. Sears Holdings Corporation operates through its subsidiaries, including Sears, Roebuck and Co. and Kmart Corporation. For more information, visit Sears Holdings' website at http://www.searsholdings.com/.
About the Sears Energy Star Summit The Utility companies and other organizations that participated in the Sears Energy Star summit included: The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California San Diego Gas & Electric Southern California Gas Southern California Edison PECI (representing PacifiCorp and the WashWise Program) PECI (representing Energy Trust of Oregon) WECC (representing Wisconsin Focus on Energy) WECC (representing Duke Energy and Xcel Energy) Alliant Energy Great River Energy The Northeast ENERGY STAR Appliance & Lighting Initiative NYSERDA AmerenUE NEEP (representing the Northeast ENERGY STAR Appliance & Lighting Initiative) New Jersey Clean Energy Program Georgia Power
