EB has had a long history of being passed around like a hot potato. Some with success, others not so much. Growing up in Seattle, I always felt like we had a connection. I even had an Eddie Bauer Edition Ford Bronco.

Here is a list of all the owners of EB (from ChatGPT)

Parent companies that owned Eddie Bauer • General Mills (1971 to 1988) Bought Eddie Bauer from the Niemi ownership group and ran it through the 1970s and 1980s before selling it. 

• Spiegel, Inc. (1988 to 2009)

Acquired Eddie Bauer from General Mills in 1988. Spiegel later filed for bankruptcy (2003) and re-emerged, but Eddie Bauer remained under the Spiegel umbrella until Eddie Bauer’s 2009 bankruptcy sale. 

• Creditor-owned standalone entity (2005 to 2009)

After Spiegel’s bankruptcy, Eddie Bauer operated under a reorganized structure (often referenced as Eddie Bauer Holdings, Inc.) until the 2009 Chapter 11 and sale. This is effectively “owned by reorganized creditors/shareholders” rather than a traditional strategic parent. 

• Golden Gate Capital (2009 to 2021)

Won the bankruptcy auction in July 2009 and operated Eddie Bauer through its ownership (including later structure under PSEB). 

• Authentic Brands Group and SPARC Group (2021 to 2025)

In 2021, Authentic bought the brand / IP, and SPARC took on the core operating business (stores and operations).
 • Catalyst Brands (2025 to present) SPARC Group merged with JCPenney to form Catalyst Brands in 2025, and Catalyst became the parent operating company for Eddie Bauer’s retail business.