Eddie Bauer plans bigger presence in SE Asia

EDDIE Bauer challenges people around the world to explore the great outdoors

In markets like North America, Japan and Germany, the name Eddie Bauer brings to mind images of the great outdoors.

It is a different case in the Philippines where Eddie Bauer was planted in most Filipinos’ consciousness as a variant of the Ford Expedition, which was a big hit on the road in the mid-1990s before skyrocketing prices of gasoline hurt the sales of the gas guzzler.

“I heard that all the time here,” said Bill Bredy, senior vice president of international and marketing of the 94-year-old company.

Thus the challenge is to broaden Filipinos’ awareness and turn their attention to the fact that the partnership with Ford was a mere page in the thick history book of Eddie Bauer, founded by a dedicated outdoorsman who wanted to share his passion with other people through his products.

Bredy said Eddie Bauer had been slow to expand outside of the United States, but it has definitely picked up its pace.

Times have changed, he said, and Eddie Bauer was committed to planting its flag in more countries, including the Philippines, which it considers to be a major market in the fast-growing Southeast Asian region.

EDDIE Bauer’s iconic down jacket continues to sell well

“We are actively growing our business outside of the United States, our mission is to enable people to get outdoors,” Bredy explained. “Eddie Bauer has already built a nice presence in North America, so we feel that it is a good time to continue to push that goal of enabling more people to go outdoors.”

To get people outside their homes and pry their attention away from computers and gadgets is an opportunity and challenge, said Bredy. But he believes that Eddie Bauer has the right products and history behind it to be able to entice people to explore the wilderness, as generations have before them.

Key to Eddie Bauer’s expansion, said Bredy, is finding the right partner.

For the Philippines, the partner is the Primer Group, which has accumulated a number of distributorship deals for products that are mainly geared toward physical activity, sports and the outdoors.

“It was clear that our companies have a common value. If there is any challenge we have, it is finding partners. Outside of Japan, the Primer Group is supporting Southeast Asia for us, including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam and Indonesia. We are also looking at China and South Korea—those are important markets. Again the most important thing is to find the right partner. We are not going to do it with anyone,” he said.

In the crowded marketplace, he believes Eddie Bauer, founded in 1920, has a unique proposition because of its history.

“Eddie Bauer the company is really an extension of the man. He was an outdoorsman and an innovator. He was a guide. That was how he was a person,” said Bredy. “Thus, to stay true to that history, Eddie Bauer today continues to fight for its mission to get people—especially children—away from their toys and gadgets and find the benefits of physical activity or simply being outside.”

The customer need not climb seven mountains, said Bredy. Any physical activity is good activity and the level will depend on the customer. Thus, Eddie Bauer is about letting the customer determine what he wants to do, and not be pressured to do something he is neither inclined nor capable of doing.

“We ask the customer, what is your adventure? That is our tagline, live your adventure. You do not have to be an extreme athlete to be able to enjoy the outdoors. We have more of an inclusive message because there are lots of ways to be active. And when you do go out and decide on your adventure, Eddie Bauer will be there to help,” said Bredy.

Eddie Bauer, for instance, has travel and trekking products, as well as fishing and hunting gear. For the more adventurous, there is mountain climbing equipment. The jackets, however, remain among the most popular of Eddie Bauer gear, especially the down jacket that Eddie Bauer patented.

As it expanded to other countries, Eddie Bauer also learned to adapt its product mix to be more attuned to the weather. In the Philippines, for example, there will be none of the skiing gear, but more of the travel and trekking equipment, including traveling bags, backpacks and sleeping bags.

Eddie Bauer only has two outlets in the Philippines—at SM Aura in Taguig City and SM Megamall in Mandaluyong, but Bredy said the company hoped to find a niche and create a loyal following among Filipinos—who are already spoiled for choice—through its product mix as well as complete satisfaction guarantee.

“We will continue to learn and listen to our customers here and eventually have more stores. Hopefully, when the Filipino customer decides he wants to go outdoors, he will think of Eddie Bauer,” Bredy said.