Eddie Bauer, 106-year-old retail brand operator closing all stores in bankruptcy

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

https://www.thestreet.com/retail/106-year-old-retail-brand-operator-closing-all-stores-in-bankruptcy-eddie-bauer

After 106 years in business, Eddie Bauer will permanently close all its physical retail stores following a failed attempt to sell its store portfolio during its Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.

Eddie Bauer is permanently closing 174 stores
Eddie Bauer LLC has canceled a planned auction for its remaining stores, which was scheduled for March 6, 2026, after receiving no qualified bids before the March 3 bid deadline, according to bankruptcy court filings.

Eddie Bauer’s century-old history
Founded in 1920 in Seattle, Washington, Eddie Bauer became one of the most recognizable outdoor apparel brands in the U.S.

[Prairie Gates]

1. Wow

[2naSalit]

2. They...

And a few others have either sold to other retailers or closed because they priced themselves out of existence. We can't afford their stuff no matter how much we need such products. With the wages of the common worker who works outdoors, especially in the hospitality and recreation industries, $200 winter coats or boots or hiking boots aren't obtainable. REI went south about ten years ago and I'm not sure what happened to Pategonia but they were all too expensive after a while. Almost all of the products are imported so I can imagine they can't keep going.

Welcome to trumpistan.

[The Wizard]

3. Why go to a middle man when

you can deal directly with the Chinese? Our manufacturing base is in History's dust bin.

[OldBaldy1701E]

4. This greed was going on long before that idiot came along. (n/t)

[2naSalit]

22. Yes...

And they were headed to this point eventually, given how things have gone, it just all comes together now.

[AllyCat]

6. Patagucci? At least they are trying to be sustainable and

Have some good sales. Only way I can afford their gear.

[Botany]

5. I haven't bought anything from them in years but that did make quality outdoor gear.

N/t

[Klondike Kat]

8. True dat!

The last thing I recall purchasing from them was a parka. I still have it and use it when I'm removing snow. I got it about 27 years ago. The cuffs are a little frayed but otherwise it's still the warmest winter coat I own.

[CrispyQ]

28. My first venture into an Eddie store was their first day of a winter sale

& I got a bunch of all-cotton, long-sleeved tee shirts that I still have & love! Half price at $25 each, it was more than I usually pay for a tee, but they've lasted & are nice thick fabric, not thin stuff you can practically see through.

[werdna]

7. Another victim of -

- vulture capitalism.

[GiqueCee]

9. Obsessively getting bigger...

Last edited Fri Mar 13, 2026, 02:54 PM - Edit history (1)

... is rarely, if ever, better. Economies of scale apparently have a tipping point. This has been proven beyond the remotest shadow of a doubt thousands of times, but corporatists never seem to learn, because HEY! they're "the smartest guys in the room!"
They squeeze the life out of their "associates", while whining that a livable wage would drive prices up, even as they pay a CEO $8,000+ per hour! Or sometimes more.
Corporatism is a cancer, and cancer nearly always consumes, and ultimately kills, its host.

[mdbl]

17. THIS!

Good encapsulation of our entire economy.

[ck4829]

25. Apt

[CrispyQ]

29. I would love to know the sales/rent they made/paid on their 29th St Mall store in Boulder. -nt

[GiqueCee]

31. In retrospect...

... I'll bet they found that they made more money with catalog sales then they ultimately made by overextending themselves with more brick-and-mortar stores than could reasonably be managed. And demographics factor in, too. Placing a high-end store in an area that is not populated by enough high-income earners that want to buy their stuff is a sure-fire recipe for disaster. Saw that happen here with a huge mall in an area that simply didn't have the population density to sustain it. Now it's a ghost mall.
One would think that that would be marketing 101 for developers, but greed blinds people to inconvenient facts.

[Native]

10. It will still have it's e-commerce operations.

[WestMichRad]

12. Thanks for noting that.

I was wondering…

[TBF]

18. They were good at that - I remember when all of them were just catalogues

LLBean, J Crew - I ordered from all those companies in the 80s/90s. In Wisconsin we had Land's End & shopped online or in their outlet stores.

I needed decent luggage when leaving Wisconsin, so I bought it at Lands End Outlet (it was returned monogram stuff, and of course the monograms weren't mine, but it brought down the price a lot - I used them for years!)

[Tommy Carcetti]

11. I remember having a Eddie Bauer flannel back in the 90s.

I was never the most fashionable kid or demanded to wear only the most popular brands, but I do admit I took great pride in that one particular shirt.

[multigraincracker]

13. Last year I scores an Eddie Bauer

Winter coat for $5, and a pair of their jeans for $4. at a resale shop. Both looked to be brand new
Many years ago I bought some of their cloths because they had a lifetime guarantee.

[edhopper]

14. bankruptcy is part of

leverage buyouts.

General Mills bought the company in 1971 and Spiegel acquired it from General Mills in 1988. In 2003, Spiegel filed bankruptcy and in May 2005, it emerged from bankruptcy under the name "Eddie Bauer Holdings, Inc.". On June 17, 2009, Eddie Bauer filed bankruptcy and was acquired by Golden Gate Capital the following month. In 2021, it was acquired by Authentic Brands Group and SPARC Group LLC.

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

15. "Spiegel"! Havent heard that name in a very long time

[edhopper]

21. Thank you

Obi Wan

[bucolic_frolic]

27. That's the truth of it. The brands survive and maybe a few profitable lines or items

then they are managed by a public or private equity company that collects brands. Many shoe lines do this, the former Martha Stewart is part of one, there are sporting goods brand collections.

We're to the point where there are only a handful of department store type retailers remaining, Macy's, Kohl's, Nordstrom perhaps the more prominent. And the back side of Kohl's looks like Marshall's or Ross. Of course not much is made in the U.S. of A.

[dlk]

16. When wages don't keep up with inflation

It’s the same as a pay cut.

[Aristus]

19. I always say, if you're going to have a business, on no account must you allow a business person to manage it.

Such mind-boggling incompetence.

[ck4829]

24. For real

[mwmisses4289]

20. yet another retailer who priced themselves right out of business.

Companies, may I make some suggestions?
1. Cut your ceos pay by at least 3/4, 9/10 would be even better. No ceo should be making more than 5 million per anum, and that is more than generous.
2. Bring back real customer service.
3. Take these words attributed to Henry Ford to heart: Your employees are your best customers. Pay them decent wages, treat them like people, treat them decently, and they will help to bring in the customers.

[ck4829]

23. ... Golden Age!

[Initech]

26. I honestly had no idea they were still around!

[Bobstandard]

30. Dig deep and we'll see self dealing

Each one of the companies that acquired Eddie Bauer probably loaded on debt and took big chunks of the proceeds to reward executives and shareholders, leaving the company cash poor and debt hug. Vulture capitalism at its finest