• Chicago Tribune, Friday, February 12, 2010 10:42 AM

Sears has signed a trademark license agreement with Schumacher Electric that will allow DieHard brand power accessories -- such as chargers, jump starters and power inverters -- to be sold in stores other than Sears in the U.S., Puerto Rico and Mexico. It is the first time a Sears brand will be sold outside the retail chain, Julie Wernau reports, but DieHard batteries themselves will still be sold exclusively in Sears and Kmart stores.

Erik Rosenstrauch, gm for the DieHard brand, says Sears hopes to expand the brand beyond male do-it-yourselfers with an interest in vehicle maintenance. A Sears spokesman says DieHard products should be on the shelves of other retailers within six months, but he would not specify who they might be.

"I think [Sears Chairman Edward] Lampert is looking at ways in which he can really monetize assets that the company has," observes Morningstar analyst Kimberly Picciola. "They're doing the analysis to see how selling their brands in other channels might cannibalize their existing sales."

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