Eddie Bauer

It's on the news that Eddie Bauer filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Somewhere I saw the name, probably on WWD, but never visited its store in Honolulu, because there is no store here. Either Honolulu appears to an unattractive retail location for the company, or the multi-hundred store chain is not heavy-weighted enough to bear its coexistence with other luxury brands that line up along Waikiki Kalakahua Ave or Ala Moana Shopping Center.

So what is Eddie Bauer?

EB is an outdoor gear and wear retailer, starting from one Seattle store since 1920. The breakthrough for the brand development is the patented innovation of down-filled insulated jacket (inveted in 1936), which provided warmth and protection for American troops during WWII and adventurers in their first ascents of numerous high mountains.

Another innovation is in retailing approach. EB is the first to provide "unconditional guarantee" for customer satisfaction (invented in 1922). Today, when you enjoy the service of returning goods within 90s in WalMart, you need to thank Eddie Bauer for bringing this level of customer service to the retailing world.

Who is the mastermind behind the brand?

Eddie Bauer, a second-generation Russian-German immigrant, grew up on an adventurer's heaven on an island in Washington. He loved fishing and hunting and turned his hobby into a successfull business.

Like so many other self-started desginers, EB invented the down jacket after getting sick in fishing without enough insulation protection. He patented "Bauer Shuttlecock" (1934) which popularized the game of badminton.

EB is an inventor, a sportsman and a businessman. What a perfect combination of the elements, a balance of work and life!

Why bankrupt?

I could only guess why after almost a century of success the retailer could not survive this economic chill. Telling from its website, the look and feel is so last-century, so traditional and classical, meaning not unique, original, impressive enough to stand out. While the company seems to target at consumers in their active outdoor age, about 20 to 40, the merchandise, so widely and readily available in any other retailers, are basic goods, instead of fashion goods, which can create more same-customer revisit.

The company grew too fast over the last decade, opening too many stores. Its success was built on solid mail-order business model. Retail stores with its modest-looking merchandise can hardly bring in any more new customers.

Instead, the company could have done better focusing on its high-tech outdoor clothing and gear, like Northface. Staying in the top, selling expensive, providing the most edgy of all outdoor products (innovation, innovation, innovation), instead of appealing to the mass. By being everybody, you become nobody.

Salute ...

Eddie Bauer has had its glory. Only it won't shine farther into the new century. Its story keeps me wondering if the initial energy (of invention and synchronization with consumer needs and the zeitgeist) from its founder will always shimmer and wither down the road in its second or third generation of leadership. After all, only when you really love something dear enough can you create something truly great.