DOWNERS GROVE, Ill., April 6 (UPI) -- Catalog retailer Spiegel Inc. is divesting its Eddie Bauer clothing chain and will sell its Newport News women's apparel unit for $25 million in cash.
Spiegel also is in talks to sell its namesake 99-year-old catalog business, the bankrupt Downers Grove, Ill.-based, company said.
Spiegel bought Eddie Bauer in 1988 and owes an estimated $1.5 billion to creditors. Eddie Bauer has about 440 retail stores and a Web site. Eddie Bauer sales fell 6 percent.
Spiegel filed for federal Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last year because of poor sales and credit-card defaults.
"We continue to evaluate and review strategic alternatives for Spiegel Catalog while focusing on preserving the value of its assets and are in preliminary talks with an interested party," Interim Chief Executive Officer Bill Kosturos said in a statement
The firm will seek permission from a bankruptcy judge to sell Newport News to Pangea Holdings Ltd., a consumer products and fulfillment firm based in Shanghai, for $25 million and assume certain liabilities.
