Eddie Bauer customizing down jackets

Eddie Bauer has a new customization program for their down jackets that is launching in select stores and online today. Eddier Bauer Custom allows shoppers to take the brand's signature Microtherm Storm Jacket and personalize details like zippers, linings, and color. Several of the key retail doors that the customization will be offered in include New York, San Francisco, and Oak Brook, Illinois.

Currently, only the Stormdown jacket is capable of the customization, but the company expects to roll out the technology to other products in 2016. While the retailer hopes to extend the customizing technology to other products, outerwear and backpacks seem like the most logical next step.

Damien Huang, senior vice president of product and design, said to WWD that customization "has become an expectation for customers in a lot of categories." Customization isn't always the key to success, however. Just look at the new defunct Tinker Tailor app. Eddie Bauer, on the other hand, boasts a 95 year history, and has a long-time customer fan base.

The new customized jacket will come with a higher price tag, a 25 percent higher price tag to be precise. Without customization, the jacket costs 279 dollars for women and 249 for men. The customized jackets also come with a shipping fee of 20 dollars.

Eddie Bauer Stormdown jacket now customizable

The company, which currently operates 334 stores, has been performing very well lately between retail stores and online sales. While specific sales figures for Eddie Bauer weren't immediately available, net profits are reported to be positive.

The brand is also working on adjusting their store concepts, moving away from the traditional woodsman lodge look that their store has always had, and keeping it more 21st century and technological. Stores are also smaller and more intimate now, with the average square footage of a store being 4000-square-feet versus their usual 6500-square-feet.

Michael Egeck, a longtime industry executive, told WWD that the brand's next step should be to embark on a more aggressive store strategy. The company has reacquired its license in Germany, and is also looking for partners in Korea and China. The company is certainly coming a long way from the Seattle-born outerwear company and turning into an international retail power.

photo:tetongravity.com