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Eddie Bauer declares bankruptcy
- ramesh31 8mo agoJust private equity doing what they do. It will live on as a zombie brand for cheap crap into eternity.
- notatoad 8mo agoi think calling this another victim of PE is missing the point a little bit. i guess Catalyst Brands is technically PE, but they're not just a finance company treating these brands as assets to be milked and stripped for parts before they're killed. Catalyst is a joint venture of Brookfield and Simon Property, both of which are shopping mall companies. Their other brands are all shopping mall fixtures. The story here isn't private equity doing the normal private equity thing, it's that shopping malls are dying.
- basch 8mo ago>Its e-commerce and wholesale operations are not affected by the filing because they are operated separately. >The bankruptcy doesn't affect Eddie Bauer stores in markets outside the U.S. and Canada. So its physical US locations declared bankruptcy.
- bell-cot 8mo agoOne data point - in my local Simon Property shopping mall, the Eddie Bauer store closed down a few months ago. A new LL Bean store is "coming soon". In retail, a certain rate of chain/brand churn is what you'd expect. If the public feels that some chain or brand is iconic, or has been around forever - that does not magically protect the underlying corporation from missing the boat on marketplace changes, or having its management go downhill, or the founder selling out to PE, or whatever.
- A_D_E_P_T 8mo ago> The story here isn't private equity doing the normal private equity thing, it's that shopping malls are dying. That's true, but to me the more interesting question is: Why? In Europe and Asia, indoor shopping malls are thriving. They're all over the place, and very popular. This place is a stone's throw from where I live, and it's always crowded: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shopping_City_Seiersberg https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shopping_City_Seiersberg When I go to the US, indoor malls are either depressing ghost towns, or they're luxury-only complexes with a heavy security presence and a seemingly-intentional lack of amenities. (Like a Starbucks that only has three tables despite ample interior space, nowhere else to eat, etc.) What's driving the weird variance in shopping patterns? Naively, I'd expect shopping malls to be more popular in the US, as Asia and Europe also tend to have "shopping districts" inside their (usually walkable) towns that often function, effectively, as open-air malls.
- ghaff 8mo agoIn the US, my observation is that some relatively-highend shopping malls are reasonably successful in some cities. But, near me, there's basically a dead mall that used to have Sears, Macys, and Penny as anchor tenants. All gone. I do have big box complexes (including around dead mall) that have some stores that seem to be pretty successful--supermarket and DIY. But I don't know the last time I was in an indoor mall. In Asia and some areas of Europe, at least, I do think you have multi-floor complexes where you have pretty good eating but that doesn't tend to be the case in the US.
- svachalek 8mo agoYes - Valley Fair in San Jose is thriving even as all the other area malls turn into mausoleums. It would be interesting to study why. My guess is conspicuous consumption, people who want to be seen wearing certain brands want to be seen buying them too. For anything more pragmatic, it's just to easy to click Amazon.
- ghaff 8mo agoI assume Santana Row is still doing OK as well although that's not really a classic mall. And a lot of Vegas malls seem healthy though it's been a few years--even if I sort of half joke I couldn't afford to buy anything at a lot of them. As you say, there's always Amazon for a lot of things I might have bought in malls. I still want supermarkets and big box DIY stores but I don't really need to go into malls for those.
- themafia 8mo ago> it's that shopping malls are dying. They've been dying for decades. The owners have just decided to stop trying to save it and instead hollow it out and sell it all off.
- medion 8mo agoOr re-surfaced down the track as some kind of heritage outdoor brand.
- ratrocket 8mo agoI'm not positive, but I think they've already run that playbook once or twice. They are IN the cycle.
- qrush 8mo agoWhere else will finance bros get quarter zips from??
- xnx 8mo agoFratagonia?
- 0_____0 8mo agoThey don't allow embroidered company logos unless you're a B-corp or a non-profit, IIRC. If you see someone wearing tech swag with logos on Patagonia, it's either old gear or someone in their company is a major asshole.
- bigfishrunning 8mo agoSo buying a shirt and having it embroidered elsewhere is assholery? Why should Patagonia have control of merchandise after they sell it? Makes me want to have some Patagonia stuff altered on principle...
- 0_____0 8mo agoAllegedly it was to keep people from trashing the garments when they left the company. I have a few nice jackets I really don't wear because I don't represent that organization, and they are way less valuable at thrift. The rules are if you want to get bulk discounts from Patagonia, you're right that you can just buy the clothes and do whatever to them, you just pay retail. The assholery aspect is more personal to me I think. I like that even though they're not exactly a grassroots cottage gear maker anymore, that Patagucci actually enable and encourage secondhand use via their worn gear and repair programs and messaging. I try to give space to people and orgs who are trying to do things thoughtfully, so if someone goes out of their way knowingly to disrespect that thoughtfulness, yeah I find that distasteful.
- leetrout 8mo agoIt's Patagucci, thank you.
- xnx 8mo agoIt amazing that even 25 years after mainstream ecommerce that we're still seeing the effects work their way through retail. Good reminder for anticipating how and when other majorly disruptive technologies like autonomous vehicles and AI will have impact.
- x0x0 8mo agoIt's not really ecommerce. it's PE parasites selling the brand equity. The article doesn't really mention: Authentic Brands Group, an asset-light PE org, bought it in 2021; a company called Outdoor 5 LLC now licenses Eddie Bauer's e-commerce and wholesale operations; and we're well deep into enshittification. You can find widespread complaints of bad product quality. Note that ABG wasn't the first PE company to own them, but they seem to have accelerated the enshittification / are doing a bust-out: turning them into a bottom-dollar contract manufacturer scam before people broadly realize the brand name no longer merits the quality reputation it has/had.
- nickff 8mo agoThese brands are being bought by PE because their business models are under attack by low-cost competitors on one side, and e-commerce on the other. They no longer have a way of differentiating themselves and winning customers, so they become less valuable, and Private Equity investors buy them out at a 'salvage value'. PE often pursues risky strategies in an attempt to make the brand profitable again, and these strategies often fail. Stories like EB's are not ones of PE buying and destroying otherwise successful companies.
- darth_avocado 8mo agoChapter 11 seems to be like a fashion trend these days. Everyone is doing it, sometimes multiple times in a very short time. It’s nothing more than accounting tool to restructure debt while being able to operate the company. Not saying it’s a good thing, but it isn’t as serious as it once used to be.
- slfnflctd 8mo agoYou know, I'm past middle age, have seen this brand everywhere for many years, and I only just now read about the individual Eddie Bauer for the first time. Interesting dude. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Bauer_(outdoorsman) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Bauer_(outdoorsman)
- criddell 8mo agoOn some podcast I was listening to one of the hosts described her father as an avid indoorsman. I thought that was great and am happy to have a new way to describe myself. :)
- deleted 8mo ago[deleted]
- S_Bear 8mo agoI used to have a 'Rugged Indoorsman' shirt. Loved that one.
- ahazred8ta 8mo agoand the beat goes on... https://www.google.com/search?udm=2&q=%22Rugged+Indoorsman%22# https://www.google.com/search?udm=2&q=%22Rugged+Indoorsman%2...
- havblue 8mo agoI remember back in high school, everyone would have an Eddie Bauer backpack except the random person with a Jansport. People would always insist on how you had to take advantage of the quality guarantee: "You have a bent zipper and a small tear after lugging your books for years? Great! Take it to the store and argue with them that it's defective until they give you a new backpack!"
- madcaptenor 8mo agoLL Bean used to have a similar return policy but people started abusing it; now you only have a year.
- ghaff 8mo agoA number of outdoor sports retailers that used to have no-questions-asked return policies and internal repair departments have dropped them. I have known people who basically had a practice of indefinitely returning worn out clothing for replacement. I did return a jacket to Patagonia a number of years back and they gave me a decent credit but, in my defense it had basically completely delaminated.
- criddell 8mo agoWhen LL Bean ended their lifetime return policy, their CEO wrote this: > Increasingly, a small, but growing number of customers has been interpreting our guarantee well beyond its original intent. Some view it as a lifetime product replacement program, expecting refunds for heavily worn products used over many years. Others seek refunds for products that have been purchased through third parties, such as at yard sales. People were buying old items on eBay and returning them to the store to get a brand new item.
- ghaff 8mo agoI think that's increasingly true. A lot of people want to game the system and you mostly don't want to place the burden of what's reasonable on a low-paid customer service worker. So you set reasonable and (mostly firm) time limits and let the processes take their course. Should be some wiggle room of course. But it's not reasonable to offer lifetime replacements unless people are willing to pay the 2x to 3x prices that implies--which very few will.
- headsupernova 8mo agoI'll miss their medium-tall size if they're truly gone! Kind of the holy grail for tall skinny people. Anyone have recommendations of brands with similar fits?
- xzez 8mo agoI'm the same size. They still have tall variant tops but tall bottoms/pants seem to have been gone for a while now.
- Wistar 8mo agoI was an Eddie Bauer XLT guy for years until they suddenly made them way too skinny. Best fitting shirts ever. I am wearing one of the old ones right now. Land's End Tall sizing is a good fit although some of their fabric quality is a bit iffy—especially the colorfastness of their dyes. I have had two of six shirts be unable to endure professional stain spot removal by a dry cleaner. The greens and grays seem to be the most fragile. I have always meant to take one of the few remaining right-fitting Eddie Bauer shirts to a tailor to see if they can be used as a pattern to make more shirts.
- kQq9oHeAz6wLLS 8mo agoBuy many now; they don't spoil. Keep them in the closet and pull out a new one when the old one wears out.
- ajcp 8mo ago-> Its e-commerce and wholesale operations are not affected by the filing because they are operated separately. Eddie Bauer the brand is not going bankrupt; the company that runs the brick-and-mortor stores in North America as Eddie Bauer is. So if you get your Eddie Bauer from anywhere that isn't an Eddie Bauer store you should be fine.
- khimaros 8mo agowhat will we keep our ready power tucked in our vests under now?
- nradov 8mo agoNot really a surprise. The people who buy outdoor apparel to actually spend time outdoors, like for hiking / hunting / fishing / skiing, long ago moved to other brands that were more technically advanced and focused on their specific activity. That left only the casual fashion consumers who are notoriously fickle, and Eddie Bauer failed to keep up with fashion trends. The products aren't bad necessarily but they're nothing special, you can get essentially the same stuff from a dozen other brands now.
- calmbonsai 8mo agoI used to be an Eddie Bauer customer, but the quality of even their basic clothes (think business casual "docker" pants) rapidly diminished and their technical/functional gear was never remotely in the same category as Patagonia or Arc'teryx. I still hold out hope for Patagonia in the post Yvon Chouinard era. Their quality and customer service remain top-tier. Hell, they repaired my puffy jacket's zipper for free--hopefully it will have another decade of hard use.
- josefritzishere 8mo agoTariffs again. I know it's not the only a contributing factor but it's self-inflicted damage.
- codingbot3000 8mo agoA pity. I still have the ice skates I bought from them 30 yrs ago. Real quality.