Eddie Bauer filing for bankruptcy is just a small footnote today, but in my youth it was one of the better players in the fly fishing tackle mixture.
It was rare to have a dedicated fly shop back in the 1970’s – and Eddie Bauer, Aberchrombie & Fitch, and a couple of small sporting goods stores were all we had in the day.
In addition to fishing tackle, Eddie Bauer had the greatest single assortment of Sierra Cups known to Mankind; gleaming stainless steel contraptions that reeked of roughing it – far beyond the beaten path.
With the tiny backpacking and fly fishing markets well in hand, both vendors opted for the Metrosexual-Banana Republic-Mall Bait niche, and while enjoying brief resurgence, it appears they’ve bit off more debt than an economic downturn can service.
The proposed buyer, CCMP, is a middle-market private equity firm that once served as a buyout arm of JPMorgan Chase. The firm aims at deals up to $3 billion, and it boasts of its operational expertise in turning around companies. Last year, it hired Greg Brenneman, who helped fix Burger King and Continental Airlines, as its chairman.
Eddie Bauer’s downtown San Francisco store was a religious experience that only Bankers & Securities brokers could afford. It didn’t occur to me this involved BS. The polished mahogany display cases,the silent elevator, the sportjacketed salesmen…were perfect. I had only recently purchased a Fenwick, the bare minimum for respectability. When I entered this store however, I expected to be asked for my wallet and upon examination of the contents, to be told by a now petuliant salesman: Sir; there is nothing for you here. I so wanted to purchase the same leader God used.