The closures of Eddie Bauer stores in the US and Canada are set to continue after the North American operator failed to secure a buyer.

According to bankruptcy court documents, an auction for the brand’s North America store operations was cancelled last week after no qualified bids were submitted before the deadline.

A bid from Colin Anten was previously filed last month, but the debtors said the offer did not constitute a qualified bid. 

“Among other things, the Anten proposal fails to demonstrate the financial wherewithal necessary to consummate the contemplated transaction and contains numerous material factual and legal deficiencies,” the court filing reads.

In light of the situation, the debtors will continue store-closing sales at all brick-and-mortar locations, unless and until a more value-maximizing transaction occurs.

Eddie Bauer LLC, operator of 175 Eddie Bauer stores in the US and Canada, filed for Chapter 11 early last month. The company entered into a restructuring support agreement with its lenders to conduct store liquidation while pursuing a going concern sale.

The entity is owned by Catalyst Brands, which was formed last year by merging JCPenney with Sparc Group. It licenses the Eddie Bauer brand from Authentic Brands Group.

Authentic Brands continues to own the intellectual property associated with the Eddie Bauer brand.

Eddie Bauer’s e-commerce and wholesale businesses, which are operated by a separate licensee – Outdoor 5, as well as stores outside of North America, are not affected by the Chapter 11 filing.