Associated Press
DOWNERS GROVE, Ill. — The Spiegel Group plans to close 25 Eddie Bauer stores this year as well as open 10 new stores with merchandise that extends beyond the retailer's traditional casual, rugged style.
The Downers Grove-based company has not announced which stores will be closed, but spokeswoman Debbie Koopman yesterday said they are stores whose leases expire this year. She did not know how many employees would be affected.
"We are using this opportunity (expiring leases) to close some underperforming stores,'' she said.
The closings, along with the new stores, will bring the number of Eddie Bauer stores to 451 nationwide by the end of the year, excluding outlets.
The closings were first disclosed Thursday in a conference call Spiegel executives had with analysts to discuss fourth-quarter earnings.
For the quarter ended Dec. 30, Spiegel reported a 13 percent drop in earnings to $65.4 million or 50 cents a share, from $74.7 million or 57 cents a share a year earlier. The results were 2 cents more than analysts' estimates, but the company said it expects earnings to be "significantly below'' estimates for the first half of this year because of the slowing economy.
Comparable-store sales at Eddie Bauer locations that have been open for at least a year fell 8 percent for the year and 9 percent in the fourth quarter. Net sales fell by 2 percent in the quarter to $670.3 million and 2 percent for the year to $1.75 billion.
The new stores will be based on a prototype that opened in Deer Park, Ill., and Dallas last October, Koopman said. At 12,000 square feet, it is twice the size of a typical Eddie Bauer store and carries more office apparel like skirts, khakis and jackets.
The new stores will have telephones that will allow customers to place catalog orders for items not on store shelves.
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