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Eddie Bauer Returns to Sporting Heritage with Sport Shop Collection

Eddie Bauer

Seattle, Wash. --(Ammoland.com)- Eddie Bauer, the Original Outdoor Outfitter, is proud to announce the launch of its new Sport Shop Collection, the next generation of hunting, fishing and shooting apparel for the modern American sportsman and sportswoman.

Continuing a legacy of 90 years of outfitting, today’s Sport Shop line is a mix of technology and tradition, and a tribute to Eddie Bauer himself, his wife and partner Christine “Stine” Bauer, and their embrace of the outdoors.

In 1920, Eddie Bauer, an avid Northwest outdoorsman, opened his first shop in downtown Seattle. Within a year, he had saved enough money to expand the shop to include hunting and fishing gear and the store soon became a gathering place for Seattle’s best outdoorsmen and outdoorswomen.

Eddie was more than a shopkeeper; he designed and built revolutionary products that remain functional and influential to this day. In 1940, he patented the first down jacket in America, the “Skyliner”, and later began to design and build down apparel and sleeping bags for the U.S. military. In the 1950′s – 60′s, Eddie became THE American expedition outfitter during the Golden Age of Himalayan mountaineering, providing down apparel and gear for many of the historic American expeditions, including twelve epic first ascents.

Eddie quickly realized that the successful creation of a technical and authentic product line required expert testing in the environment for which the product was designed. Every Labor Day Eddie closed his shop for five months to go hunting and fishing and field test everything he made, gathering feedback from the local guides who lived in and counted on the gear he sold. This strategy is still deeply engrained in the Eddie Bauer Guide-Built, Guide Tested process, and is the foundation on which the Sport Shop Collection is created. This approach was also part of Eddie’s dedication to superior service and commitment to offering products that were “worthy of your high esteem,” a mantra that remains at the heart of the Eddie Bauer brand today.

The Sport Shop Collection will be built through a series of product launches, the first of which is a full lineup of apparel for sporting clays, trap and skeet shooting for Spring 2012. The Spring 2012 collection includes a Clay Break Shooting Vest, which features a leather quilted shooting patch, removable air mesh recoil pad and an upper mesh back panel. The Palouse Shooting Shirt is designed with lightweight cotton and features a vented mesh back, button down collars with diamond quilt stitched overlay, and gusseted underarms. Among the spotlighted products will also be a signature Hunting Skyliner Jacket, an updated version of the original 1936 Skyliner Model Jacket, the cornerstone of the Eddie Bauer outerwear legacy.

Following closely behind the spring release of shooting apparel will be a full product offering for upland hunting available to consumers in July 2012. Each piece was designed and tested by guides and experts, including John Burrell, President of High Adventure Company, certified wildlife biologist and award-winning outfitter; and our in-house Sport Shop Expert, Rebecca Etchen Peters, who has been shooting and hunting since she was strong enough to hold a gun. Both have logged hundreds of hours to ensure that this product not only remains authentic to the sport and the Eddie Bauer heritage, but is also pushing the limits of innovation for technical shooting apparel.

The Fall 2012 offering includes the Mabton Flats Jacket, which is built with water-resistant CORDURA in body and overlays and coated, nylon-lined bellows that serve as a game bag big enough to hold a brace of Ringnecks. The Microtherm™ Featherweight Hunting Jacket is a piece Stine would have worn back in the day. It is highly packable and warm with 800-fill power, making it the perfect piece for layering under an upland vest for mid day high altitude buck hunting in the Pasayton wilderness. The Hanford Reach Upland Brush Pant is our heavy weight upland pant with Cordura overlays. This is a great late season and wet weather pant, one Eddie would have also used for dog training, when he had a wet Labrador at heel.

Fresh and saltwater fishing apparel will round out the collection in Spring 2013.

For more information on the Eddie Bauer Sport Shop collection, go to www.eddiebauer.com/SportShop.

About Eddie Bauer
Established in 1920 in Seattle, Eddie Bauer is a specialty retailer that sells sportswear, outerwear, gear and accessories for the active outdoor lifestyle. The Eddie Bauer brand is a nationally recognized brand that stands for high quality, innovation, style and customer service. Eddie Bauer products are available at approximately 353 stores throughout the United States and Canada, through catalog sales and online at www.eddiebauer.com. Eddie Bauer is proud to be named a J.D. Power 2011 Customer Service Champion and is only one of 40 companies so named in the U.S.

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Eddie Bauer Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection
Enters Into Bid Agreement With Private Equity Firm That Plans To Continue Operations
– –Partner CCMP Capital Plans to Maintain Business as a Going Concern –All Stores Open and Serving Customers –Secures DIP Financing Commitment of $100 Million To Support Ongoing Business Needs.

Eddie Bauer

SEATTLE, WA – -(AmmoLand.com)- Eddie Bauer Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: EBHI) (“the Company”) today announced that it has voluntarily initiated proceedings under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware and under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) in Canada in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Commercial List), and is pursuing a sale process under Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code and under the CCAA.

The Company has entered into an asset purchase agreement with an affiliate of CCMP Capital Advisors, LLC (“CCMP Capital”) to buy the Company’s assets through a bankruptcy process, subject to an auction and Bankruptcy Court approval, for $202 million in cash, with working capital and similar adjustments. CCMP Capital, a global private equity firm with significant experience in the retail and consumer sectors, intends to operate the business as a going concern with little or no long-term debt. CCMP Capital has agreed to:
Keep the majority of the stores open and retain the majority of the employees;
Support Company motions to maintain critical vendor relationships and payments; and
Support Company motions to honor gift cards and the Company’s loyalty reward program.

The sale process is expected to enable a sale of the business to CCMP Capital or any higher and better bidder approved by the Court on an accelerated basis, thereby transforming the business into a financially stronger entity with substantially less debt and a better position for the future. The Company currently anticipates completing the sale process in 60 days or less.

All of the Company’s operations, including its 371 stores, catalog operations and its online sites (www.eddiebauer.com and www.firstascent.com) are open and serving customers. The Company plans to conduct business as usual through the process and has asked for court approval to continue paying product vendors and employees as usual. The Company intends to honor customer gift cards, returns and loyalty program points.

Neil Fiske, President and Chief Executive Officer of Eddie Bauer, said, “Eddie Bauer is a good company with a great brand and a bad balance sheet. This process will allow the business to emerge with far less debt, positioned for growth as the economy recovers and as our new products gain traction. We expect this process to be completed very quickly, protecting our employees and critical vendor partners every step of the way.

“We have made good progress on our turnaround strategy of returning Eddie Bauer to its heritage as an active outdoor brand and have exciting new product launches on the way to market, including First Ascent, our return to expedition-grade outerwear and gear. Unfortunately, a crushing debt burden placed on the Company from the Spiegel reorganization in 2005, combined with the severe, prolonged recession, have left us with no choice but to use this process to reduce the debt load on the business.” For additional background, a statement from Mr. Fiske is attached.

The Company has secured a commitment from its existing revolving credit lenders, Bank of America, N.A., GE Capital Corporation and CIT Group/Business Credit, Inc. for so-called Debtor-in-Possession (DIP) financing of $90 on an interim basis and $100 million based on final court order, which it believes will provide ample liquidity to meet its ongoing obligations during the sale process.

In April 2009, the Company negotiated an amendment with its senior term loan lenders that provided short-term relief on its loan covenants. The Company explored various paths for restructuring its balance sheet, but was ultimately unable to reach an agreement.

The Company has filed customary “First Day” motions seeking Bankruptcy Court approval of various types of relief designed to support its employees, customers and suppliers during the sale process, including motions to allow the Company to continue to pay suppliers under normal terms for goods and services; to pay its employees in the usual manner and to continue without disruption their primary benefits; and to continue the Company’s customer programs including its gift card, merchandise return, Friends and other programs.

The Company’s legal advisor is Latham & Watkins LLP; its financial advisor is Peter J. Solomon Company; and its restructuring advisor is Alvarez & Marsal. CCMP Capital’s legal advisor is Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP.

Additional information on the restructuring is available on the Company’s website at http://investors.eddiebauer.com.

About Eddie Bauer
Established in 1920 in Seattle, Eddie Bauer is a specialty retailer that sells outerwear, apparel and accessories for the active outdoor lifestyle. The Eddie Bauer brand is a nationally recognized brand that stands for high quality, innovation, style and customer service. Eddie Bauer products are available at 371 stores throughout the United States and Canada, through catalog sales and online at www.eddiebauer.com. Eddie Bauer participates in a joint venture in Japan and has licensing agreements across a variety of product categories.

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