CONTRA COSTA TIMES
Five years ago, when Eddie Bauer swung open its shiny new doors in downtown Berkeley, the city wrapped a banner around the building at the corner of Shattuck Avenue and Allston Way to welcome the "symbol of Berkeley's brighter future."
At the height of the economic boom, city officials predicted that landing Eddie Bauer -- whose brand-name outdoorsy gear already generated big catalog and online sales in the Birkenstock and polar fleece capital -- would revive Berkeley's main drag, which had been in decline for more than a decade.
But it was an open secret that Eddie Bauer, which replaced the 75-year downtown fixture Edy's ice cream parlor, struggled in that location. Slumping sales prompted its parent company, the bankrupt Spiegel Group, on Wednesday to pull the plug on the Berkeley store -- one of 29 Eddie Bauer locations across the country that will sell off inventory and close in the next few months.
Illinois-based Spiegel has already closed 60 stores since filing for bankruptcy in March. The Berkeley store's closing sale is expected to begin around Jan. 9.
Berkeley officials on Wednesday downplayed the significance of Eddie Bauer's departure, blaming the company's slipping fortunes, not the downtown business climate. "We look at this as an opportunity to get someone to come in who will fit more with the Berkeley atmosphere and scene," said Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates.
Eddie Bauer has stumbled over the past several years, losing ground to competitors Gap, American Eagle Outfitters and others. Sales at established Eddie Bauer stores fell 6 percent in the 48 weeks ended Nov. 29.
Berkeley, famous for its independent bookstores, world-renowned restaurants and eclectic shops in thriving shopping districts, has had a harder time attracting new retail stores to its downtown district.
In a bid to recapture its 1950s heyday, when Hink's department store anchored the hopping Shattuck Avenue, the city negotiated for nearly two years to land Eddie Bauer, which then-Mayor Shirley Dean hoped would pave the way for a Macy's or Nordstrom department store. At the time, ground-floor retail vacancy rates fell from 12 percent to a five-year low of 5 percent as Berkeley benefited from the technology boom spillover.
The economic downturn has boosted vacancy rates back into the 10 percent to 12 percent range, said Ted Burton, an official with the city's Economic Development Department. And rising competition from Bay Street Emeryville and other regional malls has hurt downtown businesses such as longtime shoe seller Huston's, which went out of business last year. The relatively small Eddie Bauer store also struggled to compete with malls that offered more selection and easier parking.
But the Gateway store, which sells computers, televisions and digital cameras next door to the Eddie Bauer, bustles, said general manager Brant King. "Gateway is very happy with this location. This area has been great to us," he said, pointing to patronage from the nearby university and schools, corporations and city departments as well as residents. "We do not believe the Eddie Bauer closure has anything to do with business performance in the area."
Walnut Creek-based Longs Drug Stores may open a store to compete with Walgreens, and several businesses are interested in the former Huston's storefront, city officials said.
Thomas Myers, Berkeley's acting manager of economic development, said he figured the Eddie Bauer store would be on the chopping block because Eddie Bauer has larger, more profitable stores in San Francisco and Walnut Creek. He plans to meet with local merchants and residents, the property owner, the university and the Downtown Berkeley Association at the end of this month to talk about attracting another retailer.
Berkeley may go for something, well, a little more Berkeley. Berkeley competes with cookie-cutter malls by offering shoppers what they can't find elsewhere, Myers said. "People who want to get a service or gift that is not standard and not ordinary come here," he said.
Patrick Kennedy, the developer of the Gaia Building that buttresses the Eddie Bauer store, called the retailer's departure "distressing."
"It shows what a delicate thing the downtown is and that the ebb and flow of business fortunes here are somewhat hard to predict," said Kennedy, who for years has dropped in to Eddie Bauer to buy blue jeans. "I am hopeful that we will get something else that is just as attractive. Eddie Bauer did bring people downtown, and downtown Berkeley needs as many retailers as possible. It is fighting an uphill battle against Emeryville and Walnut Creek."
Jessica Guynn is a Times staff writer. Reach her at 925-952-2671 or jguynn@cctimes.com.
