Last Eddie Bauer store on Long Island has closed as retail operator files for bankruptcy

Long Island’s last Eddie Bauer store has closed, ahead of news this week that the operator of the popular outdoor clothing retailer's North American stores filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after declining sales, the company said Monday.

The Eddie Bauer outlet store at Tanger Outlets Riverhead closed late last month, management at the outdoor shopping center confirmed Tuesday. Another Eddie Bauer Outlet store at Tanger Outlets Deer Park closed in June 2024, according to an archived version of the store’s web page. 

Officials with Tanger Outlets Riverhead did not provide additional detail about the closure, or if the location's shuttering was the direct result of Monday's bankruptcy news. 

Calls to the Riverhead store, which had been the Island's last operating location, were routed to the retailer's voicemail with the message “No one is available to take your call” Tuesday.

"Eddie Bauer stores in the U.S. and Canada continue to be open to serve customers, and we aren’t able to forecast any individual closing dates by location at this time," a spokesperson for Eddie Bauer LLC said in an email. 

Eddie Bauer LLC, which holds the license to operate roughly 180 Eddie Bauer stores across the U.S. and Canada, said it has entered into a restructuring agreement with its lenders and filed for Chapter 11 protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the District of New Jersey, according to The Associated Press.

Eddie Bauer LLC is owned by Catalyst Brands, a private retail operating company formed by the merger of JCPenney and the Sparc Group last year. 

Eddie Bauer retail and outlet stores in North America are expected to remain open while the stores hold closing sales, Eddie Bauer LLC said in a news release, though some locations will close during those sales. The company said in its release that it "will conduct liquidation sales at its stores while continuing to pursue" a potential buyer for its store portfolio. 

If the company is unable to find a buyer, Eddie Bauer LLC said it would begin closing its remaining locations across the U.S. and Canada. The bankruptcy does not impact Eddie Bauer’s manufacturing, wholesale or online operations, and stores outside the US and Canada are not impacted.

Marc Rosen, CEO of Catalyst Brands, said in a company news release issued Monday that the outerwear retailer "was in a challenged situation, with declining sales, supply chain challenges and other issues."

"Over the past year, these challenges have been exacerbated by various headwinds, including increased costs of doing business due to inflation, ongoing tariff uncertainty, and other factors," Rosen said. Changes to combat those challenges "could not be implemented fast enough to fully address the challenges created over several years."

Authentic Brands Group owns the Eddie Bauer brand’s intellectual property and retains the option to license it to other operators, the company said.

Officials with Authentic declined to comment on planned store closures as part of the bankruptcy.

Retail analysts said despite the brand's name recognition, it has "not kept pace with rivals," said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, a Manhattan-based retail analysis firm, said in an email.

"From a consumer perspective, it is nowhere near as exciting as some of the fast-growing players" like Fjallraven and Arc'teryx, Saunders said. "And for many younger shoppers, the brand is seen as somewhat old-fashioned and a bit irrelevant."

Saunders added that the retailer has been wrestling with quality issues with its products, a major misstep in a market like outerwear where performance is a key selling point. 

"The backdrop to all of this is that the market for outdoor products has been soft, which amplifies problems," he said. 

"All in all, Eddie Bauer needed very careful brand management to survive in this environment, but this has been somewhat lacking and has undone the economics of the business," Saunders said.

With The Associated Press.

Correction: An earlier version of this story identified Catalyst Brands as the bankruptcy filer.