

A more than 100-year-old clothing retailer that was part of a merger last year with JCPenney and Columbia Center mall owner Simon Property Group will shutter all 200 of its stores, including in the Tri-Cities.
Online trade magazine Women’s Wear Daily recently reported that Seattle-based Eddie Bauer will close its brick-and-mortar locations ahead of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. A sign posted at the Eddie Bauer store at Columbia Center indicated that the store will close in the coming weeks.
Eddie Bauer became part of Catalyst Brands last year, which includes clothing brands Aéropostale, Brooks Brothers, Lucky Brand and Nautica. The organization is a joint venture formed in an all-equity transaction between JCPenney and SPARC Group, with shareholders Simon Property Group, Brookfield Corporation, Authentic Brands Group and Shein.
Eddie Bauer’s reported planned bankruptcy will not affect the rest of Catalyst Brands, nor its brick-and-mortar stores in Japan.
Eddie Bauer was founded by its namesake in 1920 as an outdoor clothing retailer. Its founder patenting the first quilted down jacket it became known for in 1940. The company has passed through several owners since founder Bauer sold it in 1968, and went through bankruptcy in 2009.
