Eddie Bauer, the 106-year-old outdoor apparel retailer, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the third time in just over 20 years. The company, which operates approximately 180 stores across the United States and Canada, cited declining sales and broader industry challenges as reasons for the filing.
The retailer announced on Monday that it had entered into a restructuring agreement with its secured lenders, submitting its petition to the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey. While most of its stores are expected to remain open for now, Eddie Bauer will initiate a court-supervised sales process. If no buyer emerges, operations in the US and Canada will be wound down.
Marc Rosen, chief executive of Catalyst Brands, which holds the licence to operate Eddie Bauer in those regions, stated: 'This is not an easy decision. However, this restructuring is the best way to optimise value for the retail company’s stakeholders and also ensure Catalyst Brands remains profitable and with strong liquidity and cash flow.'
The brand traces its roots to 1920, when outdoorsman Eddie Bauer opened a fishing shop in Seattle. It is credited with creating the first American goose-down jacket in 1936, and supplied parkas for the first American ascent of Mount Everest in 1963. After several ownership changes, the company filed for bankruptcy in 2003 following Spiegel’s collapse, and again in 2009 before being acquired by Authentic Brands and SPARC Group (now part of Catalyst Brands) in 2021.
Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail, noted that while the brand name remains well known, it has failed to keep pace with modern rivals such as Fjallraven and Arc'teryx. He added that product quality has deteriorated and that many younger consumers view Eddie Bauer as 'somewhat old-fashioned and a bit irrelevant.'
Stores outside the US and Canada, managed by other licensees, are not included in the filing and will continue to operate as normal. Authentic Brands Group retains ownership of the brand’s intellectual property and may license it to other operators. Eddie Bauer’s e-commerce and wholesale divisions, run by Outdoor 5 since February, are also unaffected.
