SEATTLE — In another hit to the brick-and-mortar retail scene in the U.S., Eddie Bauer's store operator is expected to file for bankruptcy and shutter its locations throughout North America, according to media reports.

Texas-based Catalyst Brands, which operates Eddie Bauer's physical stores, and its legal representation, Kirkland & Ellis, didn't respond to a request for comment.

The retail entity also manages JCPenney, Brooks Brothers, Aéropostale, Lucky Brand and Nautica, which don't appear to be included in the bankruptcy filings, according to media reports.

Seattle-based Eddie Bauer, an outdoor apparel brand established in 1920, has more than 200 stores around the U.S., including 11 in Washington, per the company's website.

It has two stores in the Seattle area: one in Westfield Southcenter shopping mall and another in University Village.

An employee at the Westfield Southcenter location said the store remains open as of Tuesday morning, but it's slated to close in April. A worker at the University Village location said the store is open, and no closure date has been set yet.

Authentic Brands Group, which separately owns the Eddie Bauer brand and its intellectual property, declined to comment.

Some Eddie Bauer workers have taken to social media to grieve their job losses.

Never thought my time in Eddie Bauer would come to an end," Anson Rodriguez, a former assistant manager at a Tennessee store, wrote on LinkedIn last week. "It’s the end of an era for Eddie Bauer and our partner stores within the Catalyst Brand and I wish a very prosperous future for the teams affected."

Rodriguez included a photo of an emptied retail location.

"With only a 14 day notice of closure, my team cleared out 2 Eddie Bauer stores, the main Warehouse Store and the Salvage Store," Anthony Pierce, a store manager in Ohio, wrote on LinkedIn last week. "They sold off nearly 20,000 units in those 14 days and most of the fixtures."

Octus, a credit intelligence and data provider, reported last month that Catalyst Brands was considering a restructuring, such as a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing for physical Eddie Bauer stores, due to liabilities with "landlord and vendor payments."

Changes have already been afoot for Eddie Bauer this year.

Authentic Brands Group, a global brand development and licensing platform, said Jan. 8 that Outdoor 5, an Eddie Bauer licensee, would take over Eddie Bauer's e-commerce and wholesale operations. Outdoor 5 is now also responsible for the brand's design and product development in the U.S. and Canada.

Those licenses previously belonged to Catalyst Brands.

Authentic Brands Group highlighted Eddie Bauer's "strong online footprint" in its news release published last month. Its goal for the partnership with Outdoor 5: to further e-commerce and wholesale at Eddie Bauer.

At the time, Authentic Brands Group said Catalyst Brands would "continue to operate Eddie Bauer's retail and outlet stores across North America." Catalyst Brands is an organization formed by JCPenney and SPARC Group in January 2025.

Eddie Bauer is named after the Seattleite behind Bauer's Sports Shop, which evolved into the well-known outdoor retailer. It specializes in outdoor clothing, outerwear and gear.

The retail industry at large is undergoing an evolution, according to Deloitte Consulting's Adam York, who specializes in retail and consumer products.

"Physical retail is kind of having a renaissance," he said in an interview Tuesday. "The store is really central to the strategies of a lot of retailers out there, but the role that the store is now playing in that strategy is different than it was in 2010 or 2015."

Today's customers expect the store to be an extension of the brand, York said.

His take: Businesses that can successfully adapt and provide a seamless customer experience are flourishing.

"Like any trend in business, there are winners, and there are losers when there are moments of change," he said.

In the Seattle area, fans of Eddie Bauer were still processing the news on Tuesday.

Beau Alvarez, 25, said it's "definitely a bummer."

The Puyallup resident appreciates Eddie Bauer's flannel shirts in particular. He considers them to be a good deal for their price point: at this time, $80 online.

However, Alvarez noted that the brand "always felt like a company on the brink of collapse." He said it's often easier to find an outlet store locally than a brick-and-mortar Eddie Bauer location.

Alvarez has years of professional experience in the outdoor industry. He fights wildfires in the summer and was a seasonal employee at an REI store in the winter until recently. Alvarez was laid off last month.

"As an industry, it isn't doing super well," he said in an interview on Tuesday. "So I'm not necessarily shocked to see this news about Eddie Bauer come out.

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