The Spiegel Group has announced the location of 29 Eddie Bauer stores it intends to close in 2004, 16 of which involve natural lease expirations. These store closings are part of the company's ongoing efforts to improve the
productivity of its store portfolio. The company filed a motion with the Bankruptcy Court on December 5, 2003, seeking approval of its store-closing plan. In November, the Court, in response to a separate motion filed by the company, approved the opening of up to 17 Eddie Bauer stores in 2004.

Store-closing sales are expected to begin on or about January 9, 2004,
subject to Court approval of the December 5, 2003 motion filed by the company.
The stores will remain open for business, on a store-by-store basis, until the
related store-closing inventory sales are completed. The company will assess
inventory writedowns, if any, associated with these store closings on a going
forward basis.

Fabian Mansson, president and chief executive officer of Eddie Bauer
stated, “We continue to focus on improving the productivity of our store base.
We have made progress this year in our efforts to position Eddie Bauer as the
rugged outdoor American lifestyle brand by refining our product offer and
reshaping our store portfolio.”

Eddie Bauer currently operates 469 stores in the United States and Canada,
including 330 apparel stores, 36 home stores and 103 outlet stores. A list of
the stores scheduled for closure follows. The list includes 25 apparel stores
and four outlet stores, located throughout the United States.

                   EDDIE BAUER STORES SCHEDULED FOR CLOSURE

    STORE NAME                   CITY               ST    TYPE
    Shattuck Avenue              Berkeley           CA    Apparel
    Los Cerritos Center          Cerritos           CA    Apparel
    Del Monte                    Monterey           CA    Apparel
    Chapel Hills Mall            Colorado Springs   CO    Apparel
    Meriden Square               Meriden            CT    Apparel
    North Point Mall             Alpharetta         GA    Apparel
    Stratford Square             Bloomingdale       IL    Apparel
    Ford City North              Chicago            IL    Outlet
    Montgomery                   Bethesda           MD    Apparel
    Fairlane                     Dearborn           MI    Apparel
    Oakland Mall                 Troy               MI    Apparel
    Cary Village                 Cary               NC    Apparel
    Southpark                    Charlotte          NC    Apparel
    Monmouth Mall                Eatontown          NJ    Apparel
    Newport                      Jersey City        NJ    Apparel
    Fashion Outlet of Las Vegas  Primm              NV    Outlet
    Bridgehampton                Bridgehampton      NY    Apparel
    45th and 3rd Avenue          New York           NY    Apparel
    Gresham Station              Gresham            OR    Outlet
    Salem Centre                 Salem              OR    Apparel
    Columbiana Center            Columbia           SC    Apparel
    Columbia Mall                Columbia           SC    Apparel
    Vista Ridge Mall             Lewisville         TX    Apparel
    South Plains                 Lubbock            TX    Apparel
    Bandera Pointe               San Antonio        TX    Outlet
    Z.C.M.I.                     Salt Lake City     UT    Apparel
    Southhill Mall               Puyallup           WA    Apparel
    Vancouver                    Vancouver          WA    Apparel
    Bayshore Shopping Center     Milwaukee          WI    Apparel