Toronto, February 9, 2026, 11:35 EST
- Eddie Bauer is looking for a buyer for its North American store business following a U.S. bankruptcy filing, the company said.
- The retailer’s begun liquidation sales, with stores still open, and intends to file for court protection in Canada.
- There are 31 Eddie Bauer stores in Canada listed online, the bulk of them in Ontario.
Eddie Bauer’s store operator says it has filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States and now plans to seek similar court protection in Canada. The company is hunting for a buyer, with liquidation sales starting as stores continue to operate on both sides of the border.
This shift is significant right now: the Canadian presence isn’t big, and it could vanish quickly if the sale doesn’t go through. For mall owners, suppliers, and regulars, a court-ordered process might mean markdowns right away—and then, before long, just closed gates.
Court protection gives companies breathing room from creditors as they look to restructure or sell assets. Eddie Bauer, for its part, has said it will shut down its stores in Canada and the U.S. if it doesn’t find a buyer.
Eddie Bauer LLC, in a separate statement, said it’s signed a restructuring support agreement with its secured lenders and has filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy in New Jersey. The move puts the company into the U.S. bankruptcy process, allowing it to keep running operations as it works on a reorganization or considers asset sales.
The company’s plan: start liquidation sales in stores, but at the same time, look for a buyer willing to take on all or part of the retail operation. If a buyer steps up, it might not have to shut everything down after all.
Eddie Bauer has filed motions asking the court for quick approval to keep paying workers, maintain benefits, and cover operational costs. The company is also seeking approval to tap into “cash collateral,” which lenders already have claims on. Marc Rosen, CEO of Catalyst Brands, pointed out the retailer was “in a challenged situation” even before Catalyst existed. He also cited inflation and tariff uncertainty as additional headwinds.
Eddie Bauer’s Canadian website counts 31 locations: 15 in Ontario, six apiece in Alberta and British Columbia, and single stores in Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Saskatchewan. Deep discounts—minimum 60% off—are already posted at some spots.
Eddie Bauer LLC’s bankruptcy filing lists over 100,000 creditors, and puts the company’s assets somewhere between $100 million and $500 million. Liabilities? Those are estimated at a hefty $1 billion to $10 billion, according to court documents.
The fallout isn’t universal. According to the company, e-commerce and wholesale stay out of the store filing, with Outdoor 5—another licensed operator—keeping those parts up and running. Stores overseas, beyond the U.S. and Canada, don’t fall under this umbrella, since separate licensees handle those. Catalyst’s other brands also escape impact, the company added.
Neil Saunders, managing director at GlobalData Retail, says Eddie Bauer’s brand is “well known” but calls out lagging brand relevance and product quality issues. Put simply, the retailer’s losing ground as competitors—think Patagonia, The North Face, Arc’teryx—set the tone for the broader market. AP News
But it all comes down to the buyer. If there’s little interest, Catalyst has made it clear it will pivot from a sale process to an orderly wind-down, triggering more store closures and the familiar headaches for leases, vendors, and customers.
Eddie Bauer, which got its start in Seattle back in 1920, has already weathered creditor protection filings twice—first in 2003, then again in 2009. Authentic Brands Group controls the brand’s intellectual property. The license for Eddie Bauer’s U.S. and Canadian stores, though, is in the hands of Catalyst Brands, a company that came about after JCPenney and SPARC Group merged in 2025.
