Eddie Bauer LLC, operator of approximately 180 Eddie Bauer stores in the US and Canada and a licensee of the outdoor clothing brand, has entered Chapter 11.
The retail company has also entered into a restructuring support agreement (RSA) with its secured lenders to conduct liquidation sales at its stores while pursuing a going concern sale of all or part of its operations.
The company described this as a dual-path approach. In the event of a sale, it will stop a full wind down of operations to facilitate a transaction.
Eddie Bauer stores in the US and Canada will remain open and continue to serve customers as an orderly wind down commences.
The Chapter 11 filing does not affect the brand’s e-commerce and wholesale businesses, which are operated by a separate licensee – Outdoor 5, nor its stores outside of North America.
Authentic Brands Group continues to own the intellectual property associated with the Eddie Bauer brand and may license the brand to other operators.
Eddie Bauer LLC is an entity owned by Catalyst Brands, which was formed last year by merging JCPenney with Sparc Group, a joint venture involving Authentic Brands Group, Simon Property Group, Brookfield Corp, and Shein.
Aside from Eddie Bauer, Catalyst also manages other labels such as Aéropostale, Brooks Brothers, Lucky Brand, Nautica, and JCPenney’s private labels. These brands are not affected by the filing.
Marc Rosen, CEO of Catalyst Brands, said the retail company had been struggling with declining sales and supply chain issues, even before the inception of Catalyst Brands.
Various headwinds, including increased costs due to inflation and tariff uncertainty, have exacerbated these challenges over the past year.
“While the leadership team at Catalyst was able to make significant strides in the brand, including rapid improvements in product development and marketing, those changes could not be implemented fast enough to fully address the challenges created over several years,” Rosen said.
He added, “We are working to minimize the impact on the Retail Company’s employees, vendors, customers and other stakeholders.
“However, this restructuring is the best way to optimize value for the Retail Company’s stakeholders and also ensure Catalyst Brands remains profitable and with strong liquidity and cashflow.”
Eddie Bauer founded his namesake brand in Seattle in 1920. The business underwent several changes of ownership and filed for bankruptcy twice before it was acquired by Golden Gate Capital in 2009. Authentic Brands and Simon Property, via their JV Sparc Group, bought the brand in 2021.
