According to reporting by The New York Times, the operator of Eddie Bauer’s U.S. and Canadian retail stores filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday
It seems the future of Eddie Bauer will be remembered in closets, on camping trips, and by used green Ford Explorers from the 1990s.
Eddie Bauer — the outdoor apparel brand once synonymous with goose-down parkas, hiking catalogs and, yes, those forest-green Ford Explorers with the logo splashed across the side — is facing an uncertain future.
According to reporting by The New York Times, the operator of Eddie Bauer’s U.S. and Canadian retail stores filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday in the District of New Jersey. Court filings state the company is seeking to sell some or all of its roughly 220 stores.
Locally, that includes the Eddie Bauer storefront at Montgomery Mall — one of the few remaining national apparel names in a mall that has seen significant vacancy in recent years — as well as the brand’s outlet location at Philadelphia Premium Outlets in Limerick Township.
From Everest to bankruptcy court
Founded in 1923 in Washington state by outdoorsman Eddie Bauer after he suffered hypothermia on a fishing trip, the company built its reputation on durable down jackets and expedition gear. The brand’s credibility was cemented in 1963 when American climber James W. Whittaker wore an Eddie Bauer parka on Mount Everest.
During World War II, its garments and sleeping bags were used by the U.S. Army Air Corps.
By the early 2000s, Eddie Bauer operated roughly 500 stores worldwide. In more recent years, it partnered with labels such as Buck Mason and Homme Femme, blending its rugged heritage with contemporary streetwear aesthetics.
But as the Times reports, the post-pandemic outdoor boom that briefly lifted sales faded. The company cited shifting consumer preferences, rising inflation, supply chain challenges, higher tariffs and the closing of a loophole on inexpensive imports as factors that eroded margins and hurt earnings.
The bankruptcy filing does not automatically mean stores will close. Chapter 11 allows companies to restructure debts while continuing operations. However, the operator has indicated it is exploring the sale of some or all of its retail footprint.
At Montgomery Mall, where anchor turnover and vacant storefronts have reshaped the retail landscape, the loss of another established national brand would be notable. Meanwhile, Philadelphia Premium Outlets, which continues to draw regional traffic, could see changes depending on how any sale unfolds.
For many shoppers, Eddie Bauer evokes a certain era: mall weekends, fleece pullovers and, for a generation of suburban drivers, that iconic Explorer edition that made the brand feel less like a clothing label and more like a lifestyle badge.
Whether that badge survives in brick-and-mortar form in Montgomery County may depend on what emerges from bankruptcy court in the months ahead.
