Maybe Weber felt that " private label " was a way to create capital , sell the raw product components to other companies and let them call it what they wish as long as it wasn't Weber . would you sell 2 -3 times what you had up until any point ? Its Sears they were a powerhouse and this type of deal went down all the time . I'd say Sears at the time had that type of power , Wal mart , Costco type power . How many companies were making these types of kettles at that time ? One.