Founded in Seattle, WA in 1920, Eddie Bauer sells men’s and women’s outerwear and mountaineering gear.  Though still rooted in this tradition, the Heritage line will enable the company to earn higher margins selling to the “yupperjack” and American workwear enthusiasts.  This market has exploded in the past year in the U.S. as well as abroad in Japan, and provides an outstanding opportunity for Eddie Bauer to differentiate its product line while honoring its creed “to give you such outstanding quality, value, service and guarantee that we may be worthy of your high esteem.”  Interestingly, this announcement comes on the heels of L.L. Bean’s own new line.  The L.L. Beans Signature Line, designed by Alex Carleton, founder of Rogues Gallery (formerly of Polo Ralph Lauren and Abercrombie & Fitch) will include tailored linen blazers and buffalo plaid shirts for men, and camp jackets and madras shirt-dresses for women, among other things.  Finally Eddie Bauer is pulling itself from the financial wreckage of Speigel’s bankruptcy, and not a moment too soon! By creating a separate line Eddie Bauer will be able to gain market share in the higher margin American workwear/outerwear market while simultaneously enhancing and strengthening its core brand.  This could also be viewed as a protectionist form of disruptive innovation/competition, which could put it in a better position to compete with the likes of Land’s End (which just announced its own new line – Canvas), L.L. Bean (which sell products that are near substitutes for Eddie Bauer’s) and even J.Crew to name a few.  CEO Neil Fiske has led the company’s forays into mountaineering gear with its First Ascent line and even yoga!  Formerly of The Boston Consulting Group, Neil Fiske led the turnaround and brand transformation of Bed Bath & Beyond, “reversing more than two years of negative store sales and declining profits. Under his four-year tenure, Bath and Body Works grew from $1.8 to $2.5 billion, achieved record profits in 2006, and launched a number of innovative, industry-leading brands.  Mr. Fiske also helped launch a highly successful e-commerce and catalog business. He was recognized as “Marketer of the Year” and “Retailer of the Year” in 2004 and 2005 by Women’s Wear Daily.”  (Source)  No doubt Eddie Bauer’s investors at Golden Gate Capital tapped Fiske to lead the company back to profitability after the collapse of Speigel.  Eddie Bauer has potential above and beyond that of the catalog business.  In 1994 Eddie Bauer opened its first store in Tokyo, Japan and partnered with Otto GmbH & Co and Sumitomo Corp. to develop stores and distribute catalogs in the country.  The company also has the licensing rights for the use of Eddie Bauer trademarks in Japan.  Neil Fiske, in addition to being an incredible CEO, is also a talented author.  Along with BCG associate Michael Silverstein, Fiske wrote “Trading Up: The New American Luxury”, which details the Middle-American obsession with “masstige” – prestige for the masses (examples include Pottery Barn, Kendall Jackson Wines, and the Porsche Boxster).  Fiske clearly understands the average American consumer.  With The Heritage Collection though, Eddie Bauer is targeting those in the tail end of the distribution- the trendsetters, the mavens.  I’m glad to see that Mr. Fiske is not viewing the ever-changing industry landscape through filter’s defined by Eddie Bauer’s past.  Eddie Bauer has a strong historical and emotional identification with outerwear and this new collection is a brilliant way to take advantage of the increasing demand for these types of product. Cheers!