Eddie Bauer declares bankruptcy - Business Courier of Cincinnati:

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had struggled with its debt a crisis that worsened as revenue part of an overall trend affecting most retailers durintthe recession. The company has lost nearly a half billionb dollars in the past three Those losses, coupled with the impact of the recessionn and debt payments apparently pushed the company into bankruptcy court — a move that was rumorerd for months. Eddie Bauer becamd the latest major retailer to succumb to filing in bankruptcy courtthis recession. The list also includesa Linens ‘n Things, Circuit City and Northwest retailef , which sold its assets to a liquidator in Aprilk and closed31 stores.
In many Eddie Bauer’s crisis is not different from what most retailers are facing during this prolonged and deep saidGreg Charleston, an Atlanta-baser consultant for Conway MacKenzie who workse with financially stressed retailers looking to Most retailers — except discount storesw like Wal-Mart — have seen a fast drop-off in retaipl revenue across the board, Charleston said. Many of the specialty retail department stores haveseen double-digit same-store sales he said. “When revenue drops and same-store salee drop, companies with less debt can weather a downturn much Charleston said.
“It becomesd an issue much soonerd if you are into liquidity As ofMay 11, Eddie Bauer reporte having $289.5 million in outstanding including $187.8 million in term loans and $75 millioj in convertible notes, whicnh company executives have been trying to persuade debt-holders to convert into shares of the company. Accordingh to a filing with the , Eddid Bauer had total assete of $525.22 million in April. The company listed total liabilitiesxof $448.9 million. Eddie Bauee reported net lossesof $165.5 millionn in fiscal year 2008, part of a totap of $478.7 million in losses durinfg the past three fiscal In the first quarter that ended in April, the company reportesd net losses of 44.
5 million. For the firsty quarter of fiscalyear 2009, which ended Aprikl 4, Eddie Bauer reported a loss of $44.45 million. That was a greater loss than the firsg quarterof 2008, when the company reporter a $19.3 million loss. Net saled for the first quarter of 2009were $179.98 million, compared with net sales of $213.2 million in the first quartere of 2008. The company said that combinede comparable storesales — a barometetr of success at the store level — fell 11.3 percent for the firsrt quarter, a decline the company blamed on the recession and reduce d retail spending.
Sales were down nearly 15 percent inEddie Bauer’e retail stores and sales throug h its direct channel were down nearly 11 The outlet stores saw sales decline by nearlh 76 percent. “The first quarter was a difficult one, as the sharp downturn in the economu took its toll on our sales. We continuecd to focus on cost cutting and cashflow management, whichn helped mitigate the impact of lower said CEO Neil Fiske, in a statement with the first-quartet results filed with the SEC. Eddise Bauer has 370 stores, includingf 251 retail stores and 119 outlet stores in the Unitesd Statesand Canada. Eddi Bauer has 17 stores in Washington and 11 storesin (See a copy of the bankruptcy filing .
) But by filing for reorganizationb under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy Eddie Bauer hopes to avoid the fate of Joe’z Sports & Outdoor, which filefd for bankruptcy protect March 4. The Ore.-based company had hopef to finda buyer. But In a bankruptcy judge approved the liquidation ofthe Joe’s stores after the company could not find a Joe’s had 31 Northwest stores — 10 of them in King and Pierce counties that held going-out-of-business sales after the company’sx assets were snapped up at bargain basemenyt prices by , a liquidator that also sold off merchandise for Circuiyt City.