

Photo: iStock / RiverNorthPhotography
The operator for outdoor clothing and equipment retailer Eddie Bauer's United States and Canada stores has filed for bankruptcy protection, as the company has struggled to stay afloat in the face of falling sales and supply chain problems.
The New York Times reports that the operator filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in New Jersey on February 9. In its filing, it said that it would look to sell most of its roughly 220 brick-and-mortar stores across the U.S. and Canada. The Washington state-based company also detailed its challenges with rising inflation, changing consumer behaviors, the closure of a loophole for cheap imports, and higher tariff rates enacted by the Trump administration over the last year.
Eddie Bauer was founded by its namesake in Seattle in 1920 as a tennis shop in the back of a local hunting and fishing store. The brand expanded its line to include golf clubs and fishing tackle in the ensuing years, before its founder patented the first goose down insulated jacket in the U.S. in 1940. In World War II, the brand's clothing and sleeping bags became standard equipment for the U.S. Army Air Corps, and by 2002, Eddie Bauer boasted 500 stores across the U.S., Germany and Japan.
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