Copyright 2026 The Journal of Commerce, Inc.
Setting The Trend
November 13, 1996 Madison Avenue had nothing to do with it. Unlike advertising-world creations such as Betty Crocker (the cake lady), or Aunt Jemima (the pancake syrup lady), Eddie Bauer is the real name of a real person who really did the things with which his name is associated.
The late Mr. Bauer - company employees refer to him as E.B. - was a famous and passionate Northwest sportsman in the early part of this century. He was a hunter, fisherman, tennis player and general outdoorsy guy.
In 1920, he opened Eddie Bauer Sporting Goods in downtown Seattle.
He was 20.
Almost from the start, Mr. Bauer's little store on Seneca Street imported items, such as skis, in an effort to provide modern, high-quality equipment for his customers. Today, the script logo of what has become one of the country's most famous sporting goods importers is spreading rapidly across the country and around the world.
''It's been a wild ride,'' said Richard T. Fersch, president of Eddie Bauer Inc., in an interview.
Inherent in that ride are also a host of lessons for other growing companies. Eddie Bauer's careful analysis of potential markets, use of mail order overseas to avoid distribution snafus and, most recently, its vendor review program have helped make it a success.
Since Mr. Fersch joined the company nine years ago, the number of stores and annual sales have grown from some 60 and $ 250 million, respectively, to over 450 stores and sales of about $ 1.6 billion - and that's not even counting international sales.
That the ride has been ''wild'' is testimony to the spirit of daring and adventure that Mr. Bauer instilled in his company. It is this spirit that led him to introduce what are now common practices in the retailing industry, and which keeps pushing Eddie Bauer Inc. into increasingly challenging markets.
''There's tremendous opportunity to grow further,'' Mr. Fersch said. ''We believe there's demand out there for several thousand stores; we still believe we are in our infancy.''
Among his ''firsts,'' Mr. Bauer:
* Introduced an unconditional money-back guarantee on all his goods, an unprecedented move at the time. He field-tested everything.
* Introduced a quality, value and service creed, the cornerstone of the company's approach to customer relations and to overall business today.
* Manufactured and patented in the 1930s the first goose down insulated garments and sleeping bags, creating a virtual revolution in cold and heavy weather apparel. He obtained the down mainly from Canadian suppliers.
But there's method to the wild growth, said Mr. Fersch, who moved to his post in 1993. The strategy, he said, is one of controlled growth and careful evaluation of potential markets, particularly into smaller U.S. cities and the more remote states.
CAREFUL STRATEGY
It's a strategy that aggressively combines multiple retailing structures - conventional stores, the store-within-a-store concept, discount clearinghouses, catalogs, mail order.
''We're not just throwing stores against a wall to see what sticks,'' Mr. Fersch said.
At 47, Mr. Fersch is a peripatetic, fast-talking man who spends more time on the road than he does in Seattle. The Journal of Commerce reached him at a Chicago airport shortly after he returned from a trip to Hong Kong.
Eddie Bauer has 17 retail outlets in Japan and plans to open about 10 next year. The company has pushed steadily into new markets, an important way to get in on opportunities early. In September, the company started its first venture into Europe with two retail shops in Germany. The plan is to open about two to four stores there a year, said Mr. Fersch.
The company has four major retail and catalog divisions: Eddie Bauer Sportswear, with about 350 stores and 11 annual catalogs; Eddie Bauer Home, with about 30 stores and five dedicated catalogs; A/K/A Eddie Bauer - designed to take casual clothing ''to the office and beyond'' - with about 20 stores; and Eddie Bauer Sports Shop, a store within a store featuring apparel, equipment and accessories for traditional outdoor pursuits, such as fly fishing. There are also the Eddie Bauer Outlets, with about 50 discount clearinghouses.
About 40 catalogs with a total circulation of over 100 million are mailed to customers in the United States, Canada, Japan and Germany. In places like Japan, these can help avoid cumbersome distribution systems inherent in conventional retailing.
CHOOSING A COUNTRY
Within the next month Eddie Bauer will announce another country as a site for retail expansion, possibly South Korea, Taiwan or the United Kingdom, said Mr. Fersch. ''Our mission is to get the word out on quality, value and service and to make Eddie Bauer synonymous with casual, just as Kleenex is with tissue andXerox is with copiers.''
Eddie Bauer sources its garments from 50 different countries and uses 3,000 vendors.
As with most other retailers such as Nike Inc., executives are skittish about revealing details of the company's import business and methods of operation. That's especially true, given the raging concern these days about child labor and other human rights abuses in the clothing industry's manufacturing sites worldwide.
So skittish are Eddie Bauer executives, in fact, that they initially backed out of interviews, eventually agreeing to talk only ''in general'' about their company's international operations.
When it comes to labor concerns, they insist, the firm had a good track record and conduct standards in place long before it became trendy.
''My impression is that they do a pretty good job, and they do it right,'' said Jim Langlois, president of the National Apparel and Textile Association in Reston, Va. ''They have pretty rigorous procedures and they stick to them.''
Eddie Bauer even pull ed out of Myanmar (Burma) about two years ago when the military regime there became a hot political liability.
''We've nothing to hide and we feel good about our standards, practices and policies,'' said David K. Hiatt, divisional vice president for internal controls and public affairs. ''But it's not the kind of discussion we want to participate in in any detail,'' mainly for competitive reasons, he said.
Generally, the company conducts an extensive interview and evaluation process and on-site inspections with potential vendors to make sure they fit with the Eddie Bauer philosophy and can perform to its standards.
Only vendors that have gone through that process can do business with Eddie Bauer. Moreover, vendors cannot subcontract work without Eddie Bauer's permission and further on-site evaluation of the subcontractees.
ASIAN MANUFACTURERS
Most of the company's contract manufacturers - located in some 50 countries - are in Asia. The goods from those Asian plants are funnelled through an Eddie Bauer facility in Hong Kong that opened in 1994.
The company has a dedicated buying agent in Hong Kong, Otto Versant, that owns EBI Ltd., said Jane O'Dell, director of import operations. EBI identifies potential manufacturers, represents Eddie Bauer in production and quality control reviewing and ''assists us with negotiations if there is a problem,'' she said.
Such an arrangement is not unique, she said. Eddie Bauer employs buying agents in other countries for different clothing lines.
''The focus is always on what product to make and how to make it,'' she said. Eddie Bauer develops its own designs and specifications in the United States, determines what materials to use, then communicates all this to the vendors.
Indeed, boosting manufacturing in the United States is becoming a major focus for the company, Mr. Fersch said. ''Why not build U.S. sourcing? It's good business, it makes it much easier to develop and deliver products without the huge lead times of foreign vendors, and besides, I'm an American.''
The firm outsources much of its transportation logistics, cargo consolidation and customs activities to Seattle-based Expeditors International.
Home Page