Heads up, outdoor enthusiasts. Your local Eddie Bauer outpost may be closing up shop.
Eddie Bauer LLC, which Iicenses the Eddie Bauer brand and operates about 180 Eddie Bauer stores across the U.S. and Canada, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Monday, Feb. 9, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey. The company cited “declining sales, supply chain challenges and other issues.”
The company famous for both rugged outdoor wear and casual clothing is struggling under liabilities of more than $1 billion and possibly as high as $10 billion, with assets of between $100 million to $500 million, according to court documents.
“Over the past year, these challenges have been exacerbated by various headwinds, including increased costs of doing business due to inflation, ongoing tariff uncertainty, and other factors,” said Marc Rosen, CEO of Catalyst Brands, the parent company, in a release.
The Chapter 11 filing allows the company to restructure, hold liquidation sales at its locations, and pursue sales of some or all of its locations. Should no buyer step up, the stores would likely close.
This move does not affect Eddie Bauer online or wholesale sales as those are managed by a different licensed operator, Outdoor 5, LLC. The Eddie Bauer brand is controlled by Authentic Brands Group, which could choose to license it to other retail operators. Eddie Bauer retail stores outside of North America are also not affected.
Several U.S. locations have already begun liquidating.
Where are the Eddie Bauer stores in Florida?
There are four Eddie Bauer locations in the Sunshine State, all outlet stores:
Are Eddie Bauer stores in Florida closing? When?
It depends on whether the parent company succeeds in either managing its debt or selling the stores to another buyer. If neither happens, the stores would be liquidated and closed by April 30, 2026, according to Retail Dive.
The stores will continue operating during the bankruptcy, the company said.
What is Eddie Bauer? Who is Eddie Bauer?
Eddie Bauer was an avid outdoorsman who opened a tennis shop in the back of a Seattle hunting and fishing store, the Eddie Bauer website said. Over the years he expanded to sell his own handmade fishing rods and golf clubs and patented a shuttlecock, which helped make badminton popular in the U.S.
In 1940, Bauer patented the first quilted goose-down-insulated jacket in the United States after suffering from hypothermia on a trip, according to Fashion Encyclopedia. Two years later, the United States Army Air Corps commissioned him to develop the B-9 Flight Parka. Bauer also sold sleeping bags and other equipment to the military.
When Bauer started his mail-order sales, he used the list of soldiers who had received his gear in the war to kick things off. The company took off and Bauer later shared the company with his hunting partner, William F. Niemi. After Bauer and his sons retired the company shifted to casual winter apparel.
General Mills bought the company in 1971, and later sold it to Spiegel in 1988. Spiegel embarked on an aggressive expansion, starting a website and opening the 500th U.S. store in 1997. At various times the Eddie Bauer brand was on eyewear baby clothes, home furnishings, and even an automobile line in partnership with Ford Motor Company.
Spiegel filed for bankruptcy in March 2003 and closed 200 stores. The Eddie Bauer stores spun off into their own company but by June 2009, that company filed for bankruptcy as well. Golden Gate Capital snapped it up in July 2009 for $286 million. It was acquired by Authentic Brands Group and SPARC Group LLC in 2021.
C. A. Bridges is a journalist for the USA TODAY Network-Florida’s service journalism Connect team. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday day by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Eddie Bauer bankruptcy: Will Florida stores go out of business?
Reporting by C. A. Bridges, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Sarasota Herald-Tribune
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