Eddie Bauer board gets two new members representing lenders

Bellevue-based Eddie Bauer said Wednesday its board of directors has taken on two new members as part of a recent agreement with lenders.

The new members are Jerry Comstock, head of Strategic Restaurants Acquisition, and Scott Galloway, founder of Firebrand Partners, a private investment firm.

Both additions were proposed by a group of hedge funds and other financial companies that hold a $225 million term loan, of which $193 million is outstanding.

Earlier this month, Eddie Bauer agreed to the additions, as well as a substantial increase in interest rates and warrants for its common stock, in return for new financial covenants CEO Neil Fiske said would give the outdoor-apparel company much-needed breathing room.

Comstock's San Ramon, Calif.-based company is an affiliate of Cerberus, the private-equity firm that bought Chrysler in 2007.

Galloway, who teaches brand strategy at New York University's business school, also is a board member for The New York Times Co., a position he has held for the past year.

His Firebrand firm targets publicly traded, consumer-oriented companies with a brand it believes is bigger than its stock price. "We then acquire a strategic block of equity and begin a dialogue with management," Firebrand says on its Web site.

Eddie Bauer's board now has grown to 12 members, though it will drop to seven after the annual shareholder meeting May 8.

To make room for the two new board members, John Brouillard and Laurie Shahon will not stand for re-election, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Both have been on the board since Eddie Bauer emerged from the Spiegel bankruptcy as an independent company in 2005.

As previously announced, Eddie Bauer is reducing the size of its board to cut costs. As a result, three board members already said they would not stand for re-election.

Shares of Eddie Bauer closed up 2 cents, or 7.6 percent, at 29 cents. It has a market capitalization of $8.94 million.

Amy Martinez: 206-464-2923 or amartinez@seattletimes.com