Makes me want to have some Patagonia stuff altered on principle...
The rules are if you want to get bulk discounts from Patagonia, you're right that you can just buy the clothes and do whatever to them, you just pay retail.
The assholery aspect is more personal to me I think. I like that even though they're not exactly a grassroots cottage gear maker anymore, that Patagucci actually enable and encourage secondhand use via their worn gear and repair programs and messaging. I try to give space to people and orgs who are trying to do things thoughtfully, so if someone goes out of their way knowingly to disrespect that thoughtfulness, yeah I find that distasteful.
https://www.businessinsider.com/patagonia-no-longer-adding-c...
I'm not sure if that put a dent in the finance bros' style. Finance bros can of course still buy a bunch of the vests and have a third party do the custom logo for them.
The article doesn't really mention: Authentic Brands Group, an asset-light PE org, bought it in 2021; a company called Outdoor 5 LLC now licenses Eddie Bauer's e-commerce and wholesale operations; and we're well deep into enshittification. You can find widespread complaints of bad product quality. Note that ABG wasn't the first PE company to own them, but they seem to have accelerated the enshittification / are doing a bust-out: turning them into a bottom-dollar contract manufacturer scam before people broadly realize the brand name no longer merits the quality reputation it has/had.
"You have a bent zipper and a small tear after lugging your books for years? Great! Take it to the store and argue with them that it's defective until they give you a new backpack!"
> Increasingly, a small, but growing number of customers has been interpreting our guarantee well beyond its original intent. Some view it as a lifetime product replacement program, expecting refunds for heavily worn products used over many years. Others seek refunds for products that have been purchased through third parties, such as at yard sales.
People were buying old items on eBay and returning them to the store to get a brand new item.
I have always meant to take one of the few remaining right-fitting Eddie Bauer shirts to a tailor to see if they can be used as a pattern to make more shirts.
ramesh31•2h ago
notatoad•1h ago
Catalyst is a joint venture of Brookfield and Simon Property, both of which are shopping mall companies. Their other brands are all shopping mall fixtures. The story here isn't private equity doing the normal private equity thing, it's that shopping malls are dying.
basch•1h ago
>The bankruptcy doesn't affect Eddie Bauer stores in markets outside the U.S. and Canada.
So its physical US locations declared bankruptcy.
bell-cot•1h ago
In retail, a certain rate of chain/brand churn is what you'd expect. If the public feels that some chain or brand is iconic, or has been around forever - that does not magically protect the underlying corporation from missing the boat on marketplace changes, or having its management go downhill, or the founder selling out to PE, or whatever.
A_D_E_P_T•50m ago
That's true, but to me the more interesting question is: Why?
In Europe and Asia, indoor shopping malls are thriving. They're all over the place, and very popular. This place is a stone's throw from where I live, and it's always crowded: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shopping_City_Seiersberg
When I go to the US, indoor malls are either depressing ghost towns, or they're luxury-only complexes with a heavy security presence and a seemingly-intentional lack of amenities. (Like a Starbucks that only has three tables despite ample interior space, nowhere else to eat, etc.)
What's driving the weird variance in shopping patterns? Naively, I'd expect shopping malls to be more popular in the US, as Asia and Europe also tend to have "shopping districts" inside their (usually walkable) towns that often function, effectively, as open-air malls.
ghaff•9m ago
But I don't know the last time I was in an indoor mall. In Asia and some areas of Europe, at least, I do think you have multi-floor complexes where you have pretty good eating but that doesn't tend to be the case in the US.
medion•1h ago
ratrocket•1h ago