Eddie Bauer LLC Bankruptcy Case

Eddie Bauer is now on a plan-administration and liquidation path, with the remaining identified near-term court activity centered on final professional fees rather than operating financing or a renewed sale process. The retailer and four affiliates filed chapter 11 on February 9, 2026 after declining demand, inflation and tariff pressure, and unprofitable e-commerce and wholesale operations drove mounting losses, while approximately $1.74 billion of funded debt and the prospect that its parent would cease further support left the business without a sustainable out-of-court runway. Shortly before filing, the debtors terminated e-commerce and wholesale licensing rights while retaining brick-and-mortar rights, eliminating substantial future licensing obligations; they entered chapter 11 under a restructuring support agreement backed by their secured lender groups and pursued a dual track of a going-concern transaction for viable retail operations and store-closing sales elsewhere, as detailed in the first-day declarationDkt. 35.

The cases were funded through consensual cash collateral, not a new-money DIP facility. The court first authorized continued operations under an approved budget and granted the ABL, term-loan and subordinated lenders replacement liens, superpriority claims and other adequate protection in the interim cash-collateral orderDkt. 67. The debtors filed a joint chapter 11 planDkt. 197 only two weeks after the petitions, pairing any sale transaction with store-closing sales and an estate wind-down. The later preserved that controlled runway through a rolling 13-week budget, weekly ABL paydowns and milestone-based plan execution, while resolving the creditors’ committee’s objection through $3 million of cash for a general unsecured creditor trust plus $250,000 for trust expenses, subject to the specified ABL paydown condition.

Eddie Bauer’s confirmed Chapter 11 plan became effective on May 6, moving the case from confirmation into post-effective-date wind-down. The notice follows the court’s April 16 order approving the disclosure statement on a final basis and confirming the Third Amended Joint Plan, as reflected in the confirmation order and the debtors’ effective-date notice.

The effective date starts near-term claims cleanup. Administrative claim requests, other than professional fee claims, are due 30 days after May 6; professional fee claims are due 45 days after May 6. Rejection-damages claims tied to executory contracts or unexpired leases must be filed within 30 days after the later of the rejection-order notice, the rejection effective date, or the plan effective date. The notice also states that plan releases, exculpation, injunctions, and the plan’s binding treatment are now operative, so professionals should shift attention from confirmation risk to deadline compliance, reserve resolution, and wind-down implementation.

Eddie Bauer LLC

Eddie Bauer LLC

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Eddie Bauer plan goes effective

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