The operator of approximately 180 Eddie Bauer stores files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States and prepares a similar filing in Canada, citing falling sales and persistent industry challenges.
Bankruptcy Details and Store Operations
Eddie Bauer LLC enters a restructuring agreement with secured lenders through the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Columbia. A forthcoming Canadian court process safeguards the brand’s assets there and ensures cross-border enforceability of any sale.
Most U.S. and Canadian Eddie Bauer retail and outlet stores stay open during the wind-down of select locations. Canada hosts 31 stores, with roughly half in Ontario. Some outlets already discount inventory by at least 60%.
The company pursues a court-supervised sales process. Without a buyer, it initiates an orderly closure of U.S. and Canadian operations.
Leadership Perspective
“This is not an easy decision,” states Marc Rosen, CEO of Catalyst Brands, the licensee operating Eddie Bauer stores in the U.S. and Canada. “However, this restructuring optimizes value for stakeholders and keeps Catalyst Brands profitable with solid liquidity and cash flow.”
Stores outside the U.S. and Canada, run by separate licensees, remain unaffected. Authentic Brands Group retains ownership of the Eddie Bauer intellectual property and may license it to new operators. Other Catalyst Brands portfolio operations continue uninterrupted.
Eddie Bauer’s e-commerce and wholesale segments, now managed by Outdoor 5, LLC since early February, face no impact.
Brand History and Past Challenges
Founded in 1920 in Seattle as Bauer’s Sports Shop by avid outdoorsman Eddie Bauer, the brand supplied over 50,000 jackets to the military in World War I. It pioneered the patented “Skyliner” goose-down jacket in 1936 and equipped James W. Whittaker, the first American to summit Mount Everest, with a signature parka in 1963.
The company launched a mail-order catalog in 1945, shifted to casual apparel post-1968, and changed hands multiple times—including acquisitions by General Mills in 1971, Spiegel in 1988, and others. It filed bankruptcy in 2003, 2005, and 2009 before Authentic Brands Group and SPARC Group LLC took over in 2021. Catalyst Brands emerged last year from a SPARC-JCPenney merger.
Ongoing Headwinds
Rosen highlights Eddie Bauer’s pre-existing struggles, worsened by inflation-driven cost increases, tariff uncertainties, and more. Despite advances in product development and marketing, fixes proved too slow against years of issues.
Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail, observes that while the Eddie Bauer name enjoys recognition, it trails competitors like Fjallraven and Arc’teryx. He points to declining quality—critical for outdoor gear—and a perception among younger shoppers as outdated and irrelevant.
