Eddie Bauer LLC, a retail operator for the outdoor apparel brand, sought Chapter 11 protection early Monday in New Jersey bankruptcy court, reporting more than $1 billion in liabilities and listing more than 100,000 creditors.

Eddie Bauer LLC said in bankruptcy filings that it had faced a demand decline, inflation, and competition from foreign companies. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File) In its petition, Eddie Bauer LLC, which operates U.S. and Canadian stores for the outdoor apparel retailer, estimated its assets at between $100 million and $500 million and its liabilities at between $1 billion and $10 billion. According to a news release, the debtor is part of Catalyst Brands, a licensee of the Eddie Bauer brand from intellectual property owner Authentic Brands Group.

"The retail company has evaluated all options and taken actions to best position the retail company for the future, including transitioning the retail company's e-commerce and wholesale operations to Outdoor 5 LLC," Marc Rosen, chief executive officer of Catalyst Brands, said in the statement. "After careful deliberation, the retail company has made the difficult decision to file under Chapter 11 to implement a court-supervised sale process and solicit a going concern transaction."

According to the statement, the bankruptcy does not impact other parts of the Catalyst Brands portfolio. Additionally, the operations that transitioned to Outdoor 5, as well as Eddie Bauer stores abroad that are run by different licensees, will move forward as normal, the statement said.

Eddie Bauer IP proprietor Authentic Brands had announced in January that it was shifting its wholesale and e-commerce operations and U.S. and Canadian product development to Outdoor 5. The same day the U.S. retail operator filed for bankruptcy, the Eddie Bauer brand touted a new business strategy, including growing its digital operations.

The petition says funds will be available for unsecured creditors once the company pays its administrative expenses. The debtor's principal place of business is in Bellevue, Washington, and its main assets are in East Rutherford, New Jersey, according to the petition.

It is seeking joint administration of its case with four affiliates, including one that owns the entirety of its equity. An attached form listing the 30 largest unsecured creditors includes a claim for roughly $6.9 million.

A declaration in support of cash collateral use filed with the petition notes its woes began in 2023 and led to "a sustained period of negative earnings." The declaration says the company has faced a demand decline, inflation, and competition from foreign companies that made use of a tariff exemption. The retail operator had about $20 million when it entered bankruptcy, the declaration says.

Another declaration boosting a motion to approve bidding procedures said the company had inked a restructuring support agreement memorializing an agreement in principle with its secured creditors that could see it sell some or all of its assets in an auction. It has two nonbinding indications of interest and will consider whether to make one of the interested parties a stalking horse bidder, the filing says.

"Following the mutual termination of the debtors' e-commerce and wholesale licenses, the debtors commenced these Chapter 11 cases to, among other things, identify a buyer or buyers for some or all of their remaining brick-and-mortar retail business, which comprises approximately 200 stores throughout the United States and Canada," the declaration states.

After the sale, the company plans to conduct a wind-down, the document says. The debtor has proposed a schedule that would see it name any stalking horse bidder it might choose by the evening of Feb. 27, take bids until March 3, and potentially hold an auction three days later, the filing says.

The debtor put forward March 12 for the sale hearing.

An entry on the docket says an expedited hearing on first-day motions will take place Tuesday.

The debtor is represented by Joshua A. Sussberg, Matthew C. Fagen, and Oliver Paré of Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Michael D. Sirota, Warren A. Usatine, and Felice R. Yudkin of Cole Schotz PC.

The case is In re: Eddie Bauer LLC, case number 2:26-bk-11422, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey.