Beloved 100-Year-Old Retailer Closing All Stores Amid Bankruptcy

For over 100 years, Eddie Bauer has been a beloved outdoor retailer, helping equip customers with high-quality outdoor apparel, accessories, and gear, as its founder was a true pioneer in the industry. Now, however, it sounds like the brand is closing all of its stores in North America.

This week, the company that operates Eddie Bauer stores in the United States and Canada officially announced that it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. As a result, Eddie Bauer LLC is winding down operations, and all of the remaining North American stores will be closed.

A Pioneer in Outdoor Apparel

With the first store opening in 1920 in Seattle, Washington, Eddie Bauer – both the brand and the person – was a true pioneer in the outdoor apparel, sport, and lifestyle industry.

In n 1934, Eddie Bauer developed and patented a standardized shuttlecock, which helped popularize badminton in the United States. In 1940, Bauer patented the first quilted goose down-insulated jacket in the United States after developing hypothermia during a winter fishing trip in Washington.

Bauer received more than 20 patents on various outdoor clothing and sporting equipment early in his career.

Eddie Bauer was also instrumental in outfitting the United States military during World War II, developing the B-9 Flight Parka, which was designed to keep pilots warm at high altitudes. More than 50,000 were manufactured for airmen. Additionally, Eddie Bauer supplied the army with backpacks, pants, and sleeping bags, all of which became standard issue for American troops in the war.

Eddie Bauer also supplied the American K2 Himalayan Expedition and several journeys through Antarctica. Jim Whittaker, the first American to climb Mount Everest, wore an Eddie Bauer parka and other company products during his expedition in 1963.

Closing All Stores

Despite the storied history of the legendary brand, Catalyst Brands, the company that operates Eddie Bauer stores, confirmed this week that it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, citing declining sales and supply chain challenges that were exacerbated by the recent tariff uncertainty.

Catalyst acquired Eddie Bauer’s retail operations back in January 2025. In a press release, Catalyst’s CEO, Mark Rosen, said that the brand’s challenges have only worsened since then.

“Even prior to the inception of Catalyst Brands last year, [Eddie Bauer] was in a challenged situation, with declining sales, supply chain challenges, and other issues,” Rosen said in a statement on Monday. “Over the past year, these challenges have been exacerbated by various headwinds, including increased costs of doing business due to inflation, ongoing tariff uncertainty, and other factors.”

“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 continued.

As a result, 175 Eddie Bauer locations will close their doors in the coming weeks. However, Catalyst is looking for a potential buyer that could acquire some portion of the Eddie Bauer stores, which could potentially keep them open or allow them to reopen in the future under new ownership.

While those negotiations are underway, Eddie Bauer has already begun closing stores as the brand confirmed that 49 of the company’s leases were allowed to expire at the end of January, and all of those stores are now closed. Now, the remaining 175 stores have begun liquidating their inventory, furniture, and fixtures in preparation for a final closure, which is expected to take about 13 weeks.