The end may be near for another major national chain store at Boise Town Square Mall. But there’s still time to take advantage of its trade-out sales.
Eddie Bauer, the outdoor clothing and gear retailer and icon of the Northwest, announced in a bankruptcy filing that it plans to close the Boise store — now its only Idaho store — and its other stores across the U.S. and Canada.
The filing took place on Feb. 9, two weeks after Eddie Bauer closed its store at Boise Factory Outlets, the last surviving retailer there. The Boise Fire Department has begun burning buildings at Boise Factory Outlets for fire training as the site at 6954 S. Eisenman Road transitions to new life as a Kenworth truck dealership.
In its filing, Eddie Bauer LLC said it has “recently faced a challenging business environment” including “voluntary spending reductions in outerwear, continued inflation, and post-COVID-19 supply chain issues.” It said a “significant number” of its stores are “operating at sub-optimal levels.”
All 175 still-open stores have begun selling their remaining inventory, the filing said. Furniture, fixtures and appliances are set to eventually be sold, too.
The filing said Eddie Bauer estimated the stores would close around Mother’s Day in May. But individual stores, possibly including Boise, may close weeks earlier if they run out of merchandise — or run so low that it doesn’t make sense to stay open. The Boise store had many clothing items for sale Monday, although the available selection of individual items was reduced, and some sizes were no longer available.
Signs in the ground floor store windows on Monday read “Entire store 40% to 60% off minimum ticket price” and “Everything must go!”
Inside, a sign at the checkout counter said, “Please note: March 12, 2026, is the last day to redeem your gift cards.”
Could that Thursday be the shop’s last day as well? No one says. A store employee who answered the phone Tuesday referred to the Idaho Statesman as “corporate.” A public-relations firm representing Eddie Bauer told the Statesman that “we are not able to predict any individual closing dates by location at this time.”
There is one last hope for the Boise store to stay open: The company seeks bids from interested businesses for any or all of the stores. “To the extent the lenders determine that selling some or all of the remaining stores would, in their business judgment, maximize the value of their assets, the lenders may pause or discontinue store closings at such stores that are subject to such sale,” the filing says.
No news on those will come until after the March 3 bidding deadline.
Regardless, Eddie Bauer shoppers will still be able to shop online. That’s because a separate company, Outdoor 5 LLC in New York, runs Eddie Bauer’s e-commerce, wholesale, design and product-development operations — and those aren’t involved in the store closings. As of Tuesday, EddieBauer.com was still promoting a Presidents Day sale with up to 40% off.
(Another company owns Eddie Bauer’s intellectual property: Authentic Brands Group in New York. That company licenses the Eddie Bauer brand to Outdoor 5 — and it may license it to other businesses, according to a news release.)
Plano, Texas-based Catalyst Brands, the parent company of Eddie Bauer LLC, which operates brick-and-mortar stores in the U.S. and Canada, is preparing to close them with the help of Hilco Merchant Resources, a Northbrook, Illinois, business that specializes in store-liquidation sales.
Eddie Bauer was founded in Seattle in 1920, and Eddie Bauer LLC is still headquartered there. The headquarters will also close, and 60 workers will lose their jobs, the Seattle Times reported.
Another national chain that is going out of business is Francesca, a women’s clothing boutique with a store on the mall’s ground floor. Francesca has also filed for bankruptcy. “Entire Store 30% to 50% Off,” said a sign in the Monday window. Francesca’s said it will accept gift cards until Thursday, February 26
Merle Norman Cosmetics has recently closed. It has relocated to Phenix Salon Suites in the Meridian Crossroads shopping center at 3909 E. Fairview Ave., Meridian, which opened Feb. 2.
The mall has lost other stores, including two anchors: Sears in 2018 and Kohl’s in 2025. Forever 21 also closed in 2025.
But some businesses are still moving forward. Among the newly opened stores are Fabletics, a clothing store. tie one on, tie store; and Snack, a snack retailer. Glow Golf, where you can play miniature golf under black light, is “coming soon,” the mall’s website says.
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