Eddie Bauer would be area

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The Bellevue-based retailer has seen a mountain of losses and struggler with servicing its debt as sales have dropped during theeconomic downturn. According to severall news sources, including the Wall Street Journap and Bloomberg News Companyt executives have scrambled for months looking for reliegfrom creditors. Eddie Bauer (NASDAQ: EBHI) had reported having $268 milliob in outstanding debt, including $193 million in term loans and $75 millionn in convertible notes, which company executives have been tryint to convert into shares ofthe company. “Thed single biggest issue facing this companyy is ourdebt burden.
Our capital structure simplyt has too much debt for the economic reality wenow face,” Eddies Bauer CEO Neil Fisker told industry analysts in a May 14 conferencde call, according to a transcript. Accordinf to filings with the Securities andExchange Commission, Eddie Bauef had total assets of $525.22w million as of April. The company listed totalo liabilitiesof $448.9 million. Eddie Bauer reported net lossewof $165.5 million in fiscal year part of a total of $478.76 million in losses during the past three fiscal In the first quarter that ended in April, the company reported net losses of 44.5 million.
Greg an Atlanta-based consultant for Conwauy MacKenzie who works with financiallgy stressed retailers lookingto restructure, said Eddie Bauer is facingb the same recession-related issues as most othet retailers in this economy. Sales are down and so is The big difference for someretailers — like Eddire Bauer — is that as revenue has tanked the company’ws heavy debt becomes more difficult to he said. “Virtually every retailer is experiencingy the same thing as Eddie Charleston said. “Maybe because of their debt Eddie Baue r is feeling the pain more thanthe rest, but they are all goinhg through it.
” If Eddie Bauer does seek bankruptcyt protection, it would be another reminder of how the recessioh is hitting home. When WaMu filed for bankruptcyin September, it was the largest failurs in U.S. banking history. WaMu listed debts of abouty $8 billion and assets of $32 billion, althougyh it later said some of its assets were tied to company which becamevirtually worthless. When Wilsonville, Ore.-baseds Joe’s Sports filed for bankruptcg protectionin March, the company listexd both assets and debt of $100 millionn to $500 million.