PENNSYLVANIA (WHTM) – Less than a month after Eddie Bauer’s retail operator in North America and Canada filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, dozens of stores are hitting the market.
Nexstar’s WHTM reported in February that Eddie Bauer, LLC, which is the retail operator of the Eddie Bauer brand, had entered into a Restructuring Support Agreement (“RSA”) pact with its secured lenders as part of its Chapter 11 proceedings.
The retail operator, which blamed declining sales and a litany of other industry headwinds for the Chapter 11 filing, also said it would begin winding down operations at certain locations. However, at the time, it was uncertain which stores would eventually shutter.
On Friday, RCS Real Estate Advisors, which is managing matters concerning Eddie Bauer’s real estate operator amid the bankruptcy process, announced it is now marketing 174 store leases across North America.
To check out a full list of available store leases, you can click here.
The Associated Press previously reported that Eddier Bauer has roughly 180 stores across the U.S. and Canada. At the company’s peak in 2001, the retailer boasted nearly 600 stores.
The Chapter 11 filing marked the third time in a little over two decades for the once-storied brand that began as a Seattle fishing shop.
Eddie Bauer’s namesake founder — an avid outdoorsman — started the company in Seattle in 1920 as Bauer’s Sports Shop, according to the brand’s website. In 1945, after making more than 50,000 jackets for the military, the company launched a mail-order catalog.
An American goose-down insulated jacket, introduced in 1936 and known as the “Skyliner,” became the company’s first patented jacket. The shop also outfitted the first American to climb Mount Everest — James W. Whittaker — with an Eddie Bauer parka in 1963.
After Bauer retired in 1968 and sold the business to his partner, the outdoor brand shifted more toward casual apparel and was bought by General Mills Inc. in 1971 and then by Spiegel Inc. in 1988. After Spiegel filed for bankruptcy in 2003 and most of its assets were sold, the remainder of the company was reorganized in 2005 as Eddie Bauer Holdings Inc.
In June 2009, Eddie Bauer filed for bankruptcy and was acquired by Golden State Capital the following month. In 2021, it was acquired by Authentic Brands and SPARC Group LLC.
A year ago, Catalyst Brands, which maintains the license to operate Eddie Bauer stores in the U.S. and Canada, was formed by the merger of SPARC and JCPenney, which Simon Property Group and fellow mall landlord Brookfield bought out of bankruptcy.
It should be noted that Eddie Bauer stores outside of the U.S. and Canada were not included in the latest Chapter 11 filing.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
