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WHY BOYCOTT?
We decided to start a boycott of Eddie Bauer because we have given
them enough opportunity to do the right thing and consistently they
have failed to do it. It wasn't an easy thing to decide because
ecreased sales of extended sized items might justify their idea
that we're a shrinking market. Of course one of their biggest competitors,
Gap Inc. just added a full range of products in extended sizes.
With The Gap willing to move into void left by Eddie Bauer, a boycott
became more plausible.
Based on their excuses about the policy shift and their
wavering commitment to it through much of 2003 we began to think
that the upper management at Eddie Bauer is stimied by an entrenched
and inefficient corporate culture. It seems as if they are ill equiped
to deal with current market conditions and the company has no overall
positioning strategy.
I would like to believe that they can overcome their
inefficient manufacturing and shipping problems with better applications
of technology, but the company still needs to rediscover its soul
if it wants to stay in business.
With our boycott we hope to hold them to their advertised
creed:
"To give you such outstanding quality, value,
service and guarantee that we may be worthy of your high esteem."
There is no value in corporate greed. There is no service
in listening to customers with deaf ears. There is no action behind
their empty guarantees. To be truly worthy of our esteem, they need
to treat ALL of their customers with fairness. We hope you will
boycott Eddie Bauer until they do.
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Fairness Campaign
For almost 82 years, Eddie Bauer had a 'fair pricing
policy' that explicitly stated "one price, no matter the size"
When they abandoned the policy in 2002, The Fairness Campaign was
born.
Catalyst For The Campaign
With the release of their 'Late Summer 2002' Catalog, Eddie Bauer
decided to rescind their 'fairness pledge' and discriminate against
their extended-sized customers. For the first time EVER in its 82
year history, Eddie Bauer began charging an 8 to 10% premium on
big and tall sizes for both men and women.
Background
In the late 1990's, Eddie Bauer abandoned active sportswear to favour
business casual clothes that never resonated with shoppers more
accustomed to their Northwest Outdoorsman inspired collections.
It seemed like the company stopped being the "West Coast LL
Bean" and was trying to be a Thomas
Pink. When they beat a retreat, they asked their largest customers
to pay extra for their mistakes in the form of a pricing premium.
Hurt & Betrayed
Many of their larger customers felt hurt and betrayed by their pricing
policy change and their wavering directions in style. The Height
Site sent out an "Urgent Apparel Appeal" in what would
become known as our Fairness Campaign. The appeal rallied support
from tall people, fat people, and others adversely affected by the
policy change. We called and wrote letters, but the company didn't
care.
A Wasted Year
As a resident of the city and county of San Francisco, I filed a
formal complaint with the Human Rights Commission. It took them
a year to come back with the revelation that they don't have jurisdiction
over the company's activities.
Alliances Formed & Boycott Started
While waiting for the HRC complaint to take effect, I contacted
the local chapter of the Mirth & Girth club and the National
Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA) to alert their members
and network of activists. Together we organized a boycott and picket
of Eddie Bauer's Union Square store in San Francisco. We passed
out flyers informing other customers about the unfair pricing policy
and we were featured in the local news media.
Store Closure
It was difficult to tell if we were making a difference. Another
Eddie Bauer catalog had come out a couple of weeks after the demonstration
in front of the store. Their unfair pricing policy seemed as strong
as ever, but they did equalize prices on sale items. Then with little-to-no
warning, the Union Street store closed. No big liquidation sale.
No 'lost our lease' signs. They just locked the doors and moved
all of their stuff out with no explaination.
Further Action Required
We like to think that the HRC investigation coupled with the boycott
and demonstrations had at least SOMETHING to do with the store closure
and Eddie Bauer's decision to minimize their San Francisco pressence.
When the HRC reported their findings, they encouraged us to file
a public accommodation complaint with the State of California. In
August of 2003 we did so and are currently waiting for the state
to decide if Eddie Bauer's activities violate section 51 of the
state's civil code. The Unrue civil rights act extended the classes
of people covered under that section.
Sustain The Campaign
While waiting for the state to investigate our complaint, we are
looking for more ways to put pressure on Eddie Bauer. There are
many things that you can do to help:
| Tell Your Friends |
It seems so basic to anyone over about 6ft4 and yet for some
reason, short people don't seem to understand the inherent bias
in singling out a segment of customers and forcing them to pay
extra. The easiest thing you can do, is talk to people about
it and tell them about our boycott. |
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| Look For Allies To Support The Boycott |
This isn't just a tall issue, the double standard applies
to all "extended sizes." If we build enough awareness
of this issue, we CAN effect change! |
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| Contact Eddie Bauer and let them know you're supporting our
boycott |
Send a note to:
Eddie Bauer Inc.
PO Box 97000
Redmond, WA
98073-9700
Call Eddie Bauer right now!
Its free, just dial:
1-800-426-8020
Press 5 to jump to a customer service representative.
Send an e-mail.
You can contact
EB Customer Service. They claim they will syphon your
comments to their "We're Listening Department".
It may feel futile to get shuffled around their "appropriate
channels", so you could also send an e-mail to the Director
of Corporate Social Responsibility (Is that an oxymoron?)
elizabeth.borrelli@eddiebauer.com
Also, their Vice President of Marketing might like to know
what you think of their new "double standard as sales
gimmick"
mark.staudinger@eddiebauer.com
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Please contact Eddie Bauer and hold them to their
advertised creed:
"To give you such outstanding quality, value, service
and guarantee that we may be worthy of your high esteem."
To be truly worthy of our esteem, they
need to treat ALL of their customers with fairness.
A letter is more effective than a phone call which
is more effective than an e-mail, so please do what you can
to help change this policy!
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The comments below were sent in by Height Site
visitors in response to the article above.
"Be thankful that you live in the US, because
in Canada we're out of luck. We can't order from a phone in an Eddie
Bauer store. All catalogue orders go through the US and they won't
ship it to a Canadian store. So not only do we have to pay the shipping
and handling fees, we also get the added bonus of paying duty. To
top it off, the Canadian dollar is only 2/3 the value of the US
dollar, so take the US fees and multiply them by 1 1/2 and that's
what we pay in Canadian dollars. I can't get pants that fit me in
Canada, so I'm stuck ordering through the EB stores in the US. You
should be thankful that you're paying peanuts in extra charges for
tall orders through EB. We're getting gouged worse in Canada. Regards,
Steve Gold
Victoria, BC
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