For the TV character with a similar name, see Ed Bauer.
Eddie Bauer Holdings, Inc.
Eddie Bauer script logo.svg
Type Private
Industry Retail
Founded Seattle, Washington, U.S. (1920)
Founders Eddie Bauer
Headquarters Bellevue, Washington, The USA
Number of locations 370[1]
Area served United States, Canada, Japan, Germany
Key people Michael Egeck, President, CEO[2]
William End, Board Chair
Products Clothing, sportswear, outdoor gear
Owners Golden Gate Capital
Employees 10,000 worldwide (2007)
Website http://eddiebauer.com/ http://firstascent.com/
Eddie Bauer Holdings, Inc. (EBH) is an American holding company that operates the Eddie Bauer clothing store chain, headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, United States. EBH was formed after Eddie Bauer's former parent company, Spiegel, Inc., went bankrupt in 2003. Eddie Bauer currently operates three independent sales channels:

Retail Stores - Sells "premium" Eddie Bauer merchandise
Outlet Stores - Sells Eddie Bauer merchandise and inventory overstocks at cheaper prices
Direct Order Center - Sells Eddie Bauer merchandise through call centers in and Groveport, Ohio, and the website (EddieBauer.com)
The company was first established in 1920 in Seattle by Pacific Northwest outdoorsman, Eddie Bauer (1899 – 1986). In 1940 Bauer patented the first quilted down jacket.[3] He went on to patent numerous other designs, and his was the first independent company that the United States Army hired and allowed to use a logo on the Army-issued uniform.

Bauer retired and sold the company in 1968. General Mills bought Eddie Bauer in 1971, and Spiegel bought it from General Mills in 1988. In 2003, Spiegel, Inc., entered bankruptcy. The Spiegel catalog and all other assets were sold, except for Eddie Bauer. In May 2005, Spiegel, Inc., emerged from bankruptcy under the name "Eddie Bauer Holdings" and is owned primarily by Golden Gate Capital. In addition to the three sales channels the company operates a distribution and fulfillment center in Groveport, Ohio; an IT facility in Westmont, Illinois; and a distribution center in Vaughan, Ontario. Eddie Bauer is also a minority participant in joint venture operations in Japan and Germany that include retail stores, catalogs, and websites.[4] The company also selectively licenses the Eddie Bauer brand name and logo for various products sold through other companies including eyewear, furniture, bicycles, and, up until the 2010 model year, upper level versions of Ford Motor Company's Bronco, Explorer, Expedition and Excursion SUVs.

Eddie Bauer's flagship store is in Bellevue's Bellevue Square mall. A Midwest Flagship opened in August 2010 at Easton Town Center in Columbus, Ohio.

Eddie Bauer Holdings, Inc., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware on June 17, 2009.[5]

Contents
History
1920–1939: Eddie Bauer's Sport Shop
1940–1949: The Skyliner
U.S. Army Air Corps commission
Mail-Order catalog
1950–1959: William F. Niemi
1960–1970: Jim Whittaker
Eddie Bauer sells Eddie Bauer
1971–1987: General Mills and Ford Eddie Bauer Branding
1988–2005: Spiegel, Inc.
Eddie Bauer Home collection
1995–2000
2001–2009
June 2009
May 2013
May 2013-Present
Joint ventures
Japan
Germany
Expeditions
Expeditions heritage
Expedition Cotopaxi
Expedition Aconcagua
References
External links