SEATTLE–Eddie Bauer, the retail and direct-selling operation that specialized in apparel but had a modest home business too, filed for bankruptcy yesterday.
The company said it would sell itself to CCMP Capital, a private equity firm, according to published reports. Purchase price was reported to be $202 million, pending court approval.
The new owners were quoted as saying they planned to continue to operate the business, although there might be some cutbacks in the number of stores. Bauer currently has 371 retail units and in its most recent quarter lost about $44 million.
This is the company’s second time through bankruptcy, having been in Chapter 11 in 2003 when its parent company, Spiegel, filed. When Bauer emerged as a free-standing unit, it took on a heavy debt load and today it said that’s what contributed to its downfall.
Eddie Bauer joins an ever-growing list of retailers that have succumbed to the meltdown in the economy, following filings by Gottschalk’s, Mervyn’s, Linens ’n Things and Circuit City.