There’s a brand new day dawning at Eddie Bauer.
The corporate is debuting a model repositioning and growth technique that features an up to date brand and messaging to embrace its out of doors roots, a heightened give attention to wholesale and an enhancement of its presence outdoors of North America.
One yr in the past, the Bellevue, Washington-based out of doors model introduced Tim Bantle on board as chief govt officer. Bantle had an in depth background within the out of doors business, serving as common supervisor of VF Canada, in addition to in key roles at The North Face, Black Diamond Gear and Patagonia.
Upon becoming a member of the corporate Bantle realized there have been numerous missed alternatives for progress. “What I encountered was that the enterprise was at a pivotal level,” he mentioned. “I spotted it had heritage and authenticity, however it didn’t have a well-established wholesale or worldwide enterprise.”
The corporate was based in 1920 by a Pacific Northwest sportsman named Eddie Bauer and was virtually solely direct-to-consumer, promoting by way of its personal fleet of shops within the U.S. and Canada, in addition to on-line. Whereas it did have a cope with Kohl’s to promote its outdoor-inspired product and there had been restricted worldwide distribution, neither was sufficient to actually transfer the needle.
So Bantle began to place the wheels in movement on a “average repositioning and rebranding” that may handle these missed alternatives.
The first step was to immerse himself within the firm’s wealthy archives, even studying as a lot as he may from the paperwork left by Eddie Bauer himself.
“Once you come right into a 100-year-old model, the very first thing it’s a must to guarantee is that you simply do no hurt,” he mentioned. “This is without doubt one of the nice Americana out of doors manufacturers and it was very open to a refresh. However I rapidly acknowledged that our model mark may use some love.”
The brand was really the identify Eddie Bauer in script. Not solely was it difficult to placed on product, however younger individuals right this moment are not taught to learn cursive writing, so it wanted to be modified.
The brand new model includes a goose in flight together with the corporate’s identify in block letters, the phrases Outside Outfitters and the date of its founding. “We introduced again the goose,” Bantle mentioned, including that it had been used on and off because the firm’s inception.
Eddie Bauer’s new brand.
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The brand will probably be used on the corporate’s e-commerce and social websites this fall and can make its look on product subsequent yr, he mentioned. “It’s a very large transfer, however we’ll do it with numerous humility.”
Then he turned his consideration outdoors the borders of North America. Though Eddie Bauer had labored with licensees in Japan and Europe prior to now, when the corporate was bought by Genuine Manufacturers Group in Might of 2021 that enterprise “paused,” he mentioned. “It went darkish for round 18 months.”
However shops and shops-in-shop in Japan will start opening subsequent month, and they’re going to incorporate the brand new branding, he mentioned. That will probably be adopted shortly after by the U.Ok. and Northern Europe, after which Central Europe.
Eddie Bauer operates 260 of its personal shops within the U.S. and Canada, most of that are mall-based, and they’re break up between full-price and shops. Bantle mentioned there are not any fast plans to considerably add to that quantity, however the retailer fleet will probably be “refined opportunistically.”
As an alternative, the first progress will come from wholesale. “We’ve a partnership with Kohl’s that began two years in the past and we’re constructing that enterprise,” he mentioned, including that the reasonably priced retailer is including outdoor-inspired outlets to its shops and Eddie Bauer is “a key associate” in that initiative.
The corporate additionally works with Costco on an “item-level foundation,” and that additionally represents an enormous quantity alternative.
Tim Bantle
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Bantle mentioned when he joined Eddie Bauer final yr, wholesale represented solely 10 % of gross sales. In the present day that quantity has doubled, however he mentioned he would finally prefer to see a fair break up between wholesale and direct retail.
Turning to product, Bantle mentioned Christopher Bevans, the designer that his predecessor employed in Might 2022 with a lot fanfare as the corporate’s first artistic director, is not with the model. As an alternative, the gathering is being designed by an inside staff.
Whereas it could have its roots in out of doors merchandise, Bantle mentioned sportswear — or “on a regular basis efficiency” product — represents over half of gross sales. This is without doubt one of the differentiators between Eddie Bauer and the opposite key outerwear manufacturers equivalent to Canada Goose.
Plus, Eddie Bauer’s costs are rather a lot decrease. A down jacket can price $100 to $200 at Eddie Bauer however promote for $400 or extra at Patagonia, $900 or extra at Canada Goose and effectively greater than $1,000 at Moncler.
Eddie Bauer is thought for its down jackets.
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“We do issues which are rooted in authenticity,” he mentioned. “We attempt to be broad, democratic and extremely inclusive,” he mentioned. “I enterprise to say our competitors is the alternative. We’ve the chance to be a trusted, reasonably priced out of doors model. We’re not going to compete the place we are able to’t win.”
He mentioned that greater than half of People often take part in out of doors actions. “So we now have a chance to deal with that and be the place individuals store.”
Partnerships may even be vital to Eddie Bauer going ahead. The corporate was a pioneer within the area by inking a cope with Ford Motor Co. in 1983 for Eddie Bauer-branded SUVs. Extra just lately it has teamed with Tenting World on a line of RVs. It additionally licenses backpacks, footwear and baggage and works with Huckberry on a Skyliner down jacket.
However whereas different licensees could come on board, Bantle mentioned to not count on many collaborations from the model going ahead. Up to now, the corporate has collaborated with The Nice, Baja East, A$AP Rocky and others. “I feel we’re previous the height with collaborations as an business,” he mentioned. “However licensing is a really large a part of what we do.”
Because the rebranding and repositioning achieve steam, Eddie Bauer will talk its new messaging by way of its social media and e-mail channels. And within the fall, when the up to date product and branding hit shops, he expects to be extra vocal concerning the updates.
“We’ll have quite a few launch occasions, however after individuals can really purchase the product,” he mentioned.
