• Bloomberg News, Wednesday, June 10, 2009 11 AM

Lauren Coleman-Lochner and Jonathan Keehner report that the Eddie Bauer outdoor-clothing chain, which opened its first sporting goods store in Seattle in 1920, may seek bankruptcy protection as soon as this week. The Bellevue, Wash.-based company operates about 370 stores in the U.S. and Canada.

Several groups have expressed interest in bidding for the retailer and catalog marketer's assets. Shareholders rejected a planned $285 million sale to two buyout firms in 2007.

Eddie Bauer emerged as an independent company in 2005, two years after parent Spiegel filed for bankruptcy protection. General Mills owned the company from 1971 until 1988.

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