The outdoor apparel chain Eddie Bauer is in line to become the next retailer to shut down its stores.
According to combined media reports, Catalyst Brands, which operates the Eddie Bauer retail chain, is preparing to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. However, while some reports claim Eddie Bauer has begun store-closing liquidation sales, other reports have stated that Catalyst has yet to move forward with the closing of the stores.
The Bellevue, Washington-based retailer operates approximately 180 locations across the US and Canada. New York-based Authentic Brands Group owns the Eddie Bauer brand and intellectual property rights worldwide and licenses the brand to Catalyst. Last month, Authentic announced that it was transitioning the licenses for Eddie Bauer’s manufacturing, e-commerce and wholesale operations in the US and Canada to a new partner, Outdoor 5, beginning on Feb. 2.
Catalyst’s Chapter 11 filing is the third bankruptcy action in two decades for the Eddie Bauer stores, following a 2003 filing by its then-owner Spiegel and a 2009 by the Eddie Bauer brand itself, which was later acquired by Golden Gate Capital at an auction.
Photo by Harrison Keely / Wikimedia Commons
