Eddie Bauer Holdings, the operator of the iconic outdoor apparel retailer's physical stores, has initiated Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in a New Jersey court. The filing, submitted on February 10, 2026, encompasses approximately 180 retail and outlet locations across the United States and Canada. Concurrently, the company has launched liquidation sales at these stores as it commences a court-supervised search for a buyer.
Court documents reveal the scale of the financial challenge, with the entity listing liabilities estimated between $1 billion and $10 billion against assets valued in the range of $100 million to $500 million. The secured debt is reported to be around $1.7 billion. To navigate the process, the company has established a critical deadline of March 12 for a court-approved sale agreement. Should a suitable buyer not emerge, a complete wind-down of the retail operations becomes a distinct possibility.
In a strategic move to facilitate a sale, Eddie Bauer has secured a restructuring support agreement from its secured lenders. This agreement is designed to lock in creditor approval for a "going concern" sale, which would allow a purchaser to potentially keep a significant portion of the store network operational. The company's immediate cash position is reported to be approximately $20 million, and it has requested court permission to access cash collateral to fund operations throughout the bankruptcy proceedings.
Importantly, this Chapter 11 filing is specific to the North American retail division. The brand's e-commerce platform and wholesale business are excluded from the bankruptcy and continue to operate independently. These segments are managed by Outdoor 5, which holds the license for these channels. Authentic Brands Group, the brand's owner, confirmed in a statement that the focus remains on expanding Eddie Bauer's digital and wholesale reach while honoring its outdoor heritage, noting a planned comeback for the First Ascent performance line.
The retail landscape provides critical context for this filing. Industry data from Coresight Research, cited by CoStar News, indicates a broader trend of footprint rationalization. U.S. chains had announced 1,824 store closures and 1,259 new openings year-to-date through the prior Friday. Eddie Bauer now joins other retailers like Saks Global and Francesca's in actively marketing themselves to potential buyers while conducting closing sales.
For the immediate future, the company plans to keep the majority of its stores open to serve customers during the court-supervised sale process. However, certain locations have been slated for closure. The retailer has indicated that if a buyer is not found, it aims to shutter all 175 U.S. stores by April 30. The situation in Canada involves an additional 24 stores, and the company plans to seek parallel court protection there to ensure any potential sale is effective on both sides of the border.
This marks the third bankruptcy for the Eddie Bauer brand since the early 2000s, following previous Chapter 11 filings in 2003 and 2009. Marc Rosen, CEO of Catalyst Brands, cited a challenging environment characterized by sluggish sales, supply-chain disruptions, and ongoing tariff uncertainty as contributing factors to the difficult decision to file. Retail advisers, such as Wendy Salisko, have suggested that a successful buyer would likely need to strategically reduce the store footprint to a sustainable core rather than attempting to salvage the entire network.
The proceedings list over 100,000 creditors, underscoring the wide-reaching impact of the filing. As the March 12 deadline approaches, the market will be watching closely to see if a buyer emerges to rescue this storied outdoor brand from its latest financial predicament and what form a restructured, potentially smaller, retail presence might take.
