Outdoor Retailer Eddie Bauer Files For The B-Word

Indeed, we mean bankruptcy. As previously predicted, the 89-year-old Bellevue-based outdoor retailer Eddie Bauer Holdings Inc. has finally thrown in the flannel after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection today. For some time, it hadn't been looking good for the "original outdoor outfitter," who lost nearly a half billion dollars over the past three years. Today, they've found themselves with $476.1 million in total assets and $426.7 million in total debt. In part of the filing agreement, the local retailer will sell off its remaining assets to a private equity firm, who plans to keep a majority of the retailer's employees and operate a majority of its stores while under court protection. The bankruptcy of Eddie Bauer makes them the third national retailer and high-profile Washington company to file for bankruptcy.