“Dad, what was Eddie Bauer like before it became a mall ghost?”

Pour one out for the fleece vest you bought your dad in 2007 that he refuses to wear.

Eddie Bauer, the 106-year-old outdoor legend that once outfitted Everest climbers and WWII troops, has officially filed for Chapter 11… again. Not the brand itself (that thing is practically immortal), but the operator of its North American stores. Essentially… the lights are on, the rent is late, and the mannequins are nervous they’re going to lose their jobs.

(Source: Eddie Bauer)

Nearly 200 stores across the U.S. and Canada are now in the danger zone. The plan? Liquidation sales while management desperately speed-dials potential buyers to save some of the locations. To put more simply: everything’s 40% off, and if a miracle happens, maybe it’s only 60% off.

The filing came from Eddie Bauer LLC, the retail operating arm licensed by Catalyst Brands. Catalyst’s CEO blamed the usual suspects (declining sales, supply chain chaos, inflation, tariffs, mercury in retrograde) basically the full retail apocalypse bingo card.

The numbers are… not great. The operator lists $100M-$500M in assets versus $1B-$10B in liabilities, plus 100,000+ creditors who would very much like to be paid. If no buyer steps in, the stores shut. If a buyer does step in, expect a smaller footprint and fewer zip-off cargo pants.

(Source: Bloomberg)

Important asterisk: manufacturing, wholesale, and e-commerce are not affected. Those rights recently moved to Outdoor 5, and the brand IP still lives with Authentic Brands Group… which means Eddie Bauer the idea survives even if Eddie Bauer the mall neighbor does not. Japan stores, for instance, are still acting like nothing’s wrong.

This is also Bankruptcy No. 3 in a little over two decades. The brand went down with Spiegel in 2003, got scooped up by private equity in 2009, and now here we are again… proof that heritage alone doesn’t pay mall rent.

It’s a weird arc for a company founded in 1920 by a guy who literally invented the quilted down jacket after almost freezing to death. From Everest to outlet liquidation is a heck of a journey.

RIP, Eddie Bauer stores. Long live the fleece.

At the time of publishing this article, Stocks.News doesn’t hold positions in companies mentioned in the article.