Outdoor apparel retailer Eddie Bauer will be closing locations at CF Toronto Eaton Centre and CF Fairview Mall in Toronto, following reports of additional store closures in the US.
The CF Toronto Eaton Centre storefront is in a high-traffic location on the first floor, directly beside the entrance escalators to the Urban Eatery food court.
The Eddie Bauer at CF Fairview Mall is on Level One, across from GAP and next to Calvin Klein.
Closures have been confirmed through staff announcements and signage at the locations.
The soon-to-close locations have been sources of speculation within the Canadian retail industry, as a new format store has debuted in shopping centres like CF Rideau Centre in Ottawa, leaving the storefronts in the Toronto market with an outdated store design.
There was an Eddie Bauer location at Yorkdale Shopping Centre in the 2000’s which was shuttered to make way for Michael Kors. This store had a similar layout and design to the closing Eaton Centre and Fairview locations.
Outdoorsman and guide Eddie Bauer started his brand in a small Seattle store, where he sold and strung tennis rackets inside a gun shop. A year later, Ed opened the doors on his own space, called “Bauer’s Sport Shop”, according to its website.
The CF Toronto Eaton Centre and Fairview Mall location closures could be a sign of things to come for the outdoor brand, which was purchased in 2021 by SPARC Group LLC, a joint venture of private equity backed Authentic Brands Group LLC (ABG) and mall operator Simon Property Group Inc. With this deal, Eddie Bauer joined SPARC’s portfolio, which also includes Brooks Brothers, Forever 21 and Lucky Brand.
In May 2022, Damien Huang stepped down as CEO of Eddie Bauer after holding that role since 2018, and being with the retailer since 2010. Veteran retail executive Tim Bantle was appointed as CEO in September 2022, with a history of leadership positions at The North Face, Patagonia and Black Diamond Equipment.
We’ll continue to update this article, as this is a developing story.
Photos from Monday January 9th, 2023
Photos from Tuesday, January 10th, 2023
I will miss this store greatly, it is one of the few stores I could shop in comfortably in either of the two malls you mentioned. I am older and find that the malls have left my age group behind although some of us have money to spend and I think retailers are missing out on growing demographic. Also I wonder how did Eddie Bauer do during Covid? They do not pay for returns but do cover shipping over $100 (sometimes $75 for preferred customers)