What can consumers expect to see when a retailer known as a specialist is rugged outdoor apparel expands into selling home furnishings?
The answer is in the new Eddie Bauer Home store, part of the 33,000 square-foot Eddie Bauer that opened Wednesday at Oakbrook Center: The wares range from a log bed to a whimsical porcelain fish clock.
”We feel we have a unique story to tell on simple American living,”
says Cory Strait, a vice president, for the Seattle-based chain.
In the leap from selling cozy socks to comfy sofas, the store goes beyond the predictable to what Strait describes as ”front porch” fare. Those styles include Shaker-style tables and chairs, a floral print easy chair and white-painted metal bed that is reminiscent of a summer beach cottage than the back woods.
Consumers first glimpsed the home collection in a catalog mailed in February. Since then, the company, owned by Spiegel Inc., with executive offices across the street, already has opened a stand-alone home store in St. Louis. A third store is set to open in Santa Barbara, Calif. within weeks. The offerings range from $1.50 napkin rings to a $1,395 denim-covered sofa.
Those hoping to comparison-shop will be frustrated. As in the company`s apparel, the emphasis is on private-label. ”The brand name here,” says Strait of the furnishings, ”is Eddie Bauer.”