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Sears Makes Going 'Green' and Getting Rebates Easier

    Leading Retailer of ENERGY STAR(R) Qualified Appliances Helps America
Save More Money While Removing the Hassle from Rebates

    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

SOURCE Sears, Roebuck and Co.

 

 
Web site: http://www.searsholdings.com

  

 
CONTACT: Regina Pelz-Westergaard of Euro RSCG Worldwide PR,
 +1-847-286-8984, regina.pelz-westergaard@eurorscg.com, for Sears
 Holdings; or Larry Costello of Sears Holdings Public Relations,
 +1-847-286-9036 or +1-847-346-4514, lcoste5@searshc.com