Eddie Bauer at Woodgrove Centre is projected to close by the spring, as the company faces growing financial challenges. (Image Credit: Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff & The Canadian Press

liquidation sale

Nanaimo Eddie Bauer store closing by spring as company battles financial struggles

Feb 9, 2026 | 11:12 AM

NANAIMO — Another local retail staple is shutting its doors.

The Eddie Bauer location at Woodgrove Centre in Nanaimo, one of three on Vancouver Island and six in B.C., is expected to close by around the end March, NanaimoNewsNOW has learned.

It will be the third major tenant to close in the last year at Woodgrove Centre, following Toys “R” Us in early January 2026, and Hudson’s Bay in June 2025.

The long-term future of Eddie Bauer’s Canadian stores, however, is hinging on whether the company can find a buyer.

The apparel retailer announced Monday that it is looking to sell the 220 stores it has across Canada and the U.S. after filing for bankruptcy protection south of the border. It said a similar filing was impending in Canada, where its website listed 31 stores, predominantly in Ontario.

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Eddie Bauer LLC said locations on both sides of the border will remain open, but host liquidation sales as the court processes get underway and the company seeks a potential buyer.

As of Monday, Feb. 9, considerable discounted stock was left at the Nanaimo location.

If the 106-year-old retailer can’t find someone to purchase the business, its owner Catalyst Brands will begin a wind down of Eddie Bauer’s Canadian and U.S. operations.

Hudson’s Bay closed in 2025 at Woodgrove Centre, the first of three major closures at the mall in the last 12 months. (Image Credit: Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Catalyst Brands was formed last year through a merger between U.S. department store JCPenney and SPARC Group, a retail holding company that acquired the Eddie Bauer brand in May 2021.

Before Catalyst Brands was conceived, CEO Marc Rosen said Monday that Eddie Bauer was already “in a challenged situation, with declining sales, supply chain challenges and other issues.”

“Over the past year, these challenges have been exacerbated by various headwinds, including increased costs of doing business due to inflation, ongoing tariff uncertainty, and other factors,” he said in a news release.

The retailer was founded in 1920 by Eddie Bauer, a Seattle native who grew up hunting and fishing in the Pacific Northwest and wanted to develop a place for people to congregate and buy gear they’d use for outdoor pastimes.

It blossomed when the first American to climb Mount Everest accomplished the feat in Eddie Bauer apparel and when the company outfitted the country’s military with down jackets and sleeping bags.

Its more recent history, however, has been one of struggles. It has filed for creditor protection twice before and while it has rebounded under new ownership several times, it has not been able to garner the same appeal as hit brands like Patagonia and The North Face.

In Canada, Eddie Bauer has a much more limited footprint than in the U.S. Aside from the 15 stores it has in Ontario, Eddie Bauer has six each in Alberta and B.C. and one each in Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan.

Some started marking down inventory by up to 60 per cent last week.

–with files from The Canadian Press. Original report was first published Feb. 9, 2026, by Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press

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