Downers Grove, IL-based Spiegel Group has filed a motion with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York to hire a real estate broker to investigate selling Eddie Bauer’s Redmond, WA-based corporate headquarters. A bankruptcy judge will hear Spiegel Group on Nov. 25.
Spiegel Group, which owns the Eddie Bauer, Newport News, and Spiegel catalog businesses, filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on March 17. Eddie Bauer’s corporate employees shouldn’t prepare to move just yet, however. According to Spiegel spokesperson Debbie Koopman, the company is looking to sell the asset, not necessarily move the unit to another location. So even if the company sells the headquarters, it’s possible that Eddie Bauer may stay in the building as a tenant.
In other Eddie Bauer news, on Nov. 18, the Bankruptcy Court granted Spiegel approval to open seven new Eddie Bauer stores in five states and in Calgary, Alberta. Spiegel plans to open new Bauer stores in Lynnwood and Colorado Springs, CO; South Windsor, CT; Troutdale, OR; Lee, MA; Short Pump, VA; and Calgary.
The company is also approved to open as many as 10 new Eddie Bauer stores. Eddie Bauer currently operates 468 stores in the U.S. and Canada, down from 545 a year ago.