Eddie Bauer LLC Announces New Vice President of Distribution, North America

BELLEVUE, Wash., Dec. 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Eddie Bauer LLC, the active outdoor brand, announced today that Steve Venegas has accepted the position of Vice President, Distribution, North America. Mr. Venegas is a seasoned outdoor industry executive, most recently holding the position of Vice President Distribution for VF Outdoor, Inc., which includes brands such as The North Face, Reef, Lucy, Eagle Creek and JanSport.

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Mr. Venegas holds a master's degree in organizational management and has 19 years of distribution and operations experience. Recruited from Best Buy Corp., Mr. Venegas joined VF Outdoor, Inc. in 2007 as the Director of Distribution Outdoor Coalition to help improve operating results for the VF Outdoor distribution network in the United States and Canada. By 2010, he was promoted to Vice President of Distribution. Through his leadership, Mr. Venegas's team made notable improvements in processes and operating costs.

"We are excited to welcome someone of Steve's caliber to the team," said Dan Templin, COO and CFO of Eddie Bauer. "Steve is an enthusiastic leader, has a proven track record of impressive cost-per-unit reduction, and understands the intricacies of complex vendor negotiation and cross-brand partnership. We look forward to his leadership and contribution as we take this iconic brand to its next phase of growth."

"I'm thrilled to join Eddie Bauer and look forward to leading my team toward making distribution a competitive advantage," said Venegas.

About Eddie Bauer
Established in 1920 in Seattle, Eddie Bauer is an internationally recognized brand that sells sportswear, outerwear, gear, and accessories for the active outdoor lifestyle.  Eddie Bauer stands for high quality, innovation, style and customer service. Eddie Bauer products are available at more than 400 stores worldwide and through catalog sales and online at www.eddiebauer.com. Eddie Bauer is proud to be named a J.D. Power 2011 Customer Service Champion and is only one of 40 companies so named in the U.S. Eddie Bauer was purchased in 2009 in an all-cash transaction by Golden Gate Capital, a San Francisco-based Private Equity firm with over $12 billion under management and a leading investor in specialty retailing.

About Golden Gate Capital
Golden Gate Capital is a San Francisco-based private equity investment firm with over $12 billion of capital under management. The principals of Golden Gate have a long and successful history of investing across a wide range of industries and transaction types, including going-privates, corporate divestitures, and recapitalizations, as well as debt and public equity investments. Golden Gate is one of the most active investors in leading brands in the retail and restaurant sectors. Representative investments include Payless ShoeSource (pending), Coldwater Creek, Pacific Sunwear, California Pizza Kitchen, Eddie Bauer, J.Jill, Express, Zales, Romano's Macaroni Grill, and On the Border Mexican Grill and Cantina. For additional information, visit www.goldengatecap.com.

SOURCE Eddie Bauer LLC