Out with the old, in with the new.

The departure of the Eddie Bauer store in downtown Naperville has created a vacancy that will be filled by a Vuori store, Downtown Naperville Alliance Executive Director Katie Wood confirmed.

The California-based clothing brand is taking over the storefront at 110 W. Jefferson Ave., where the outdoor recreation retailer had been until shutting permanently Wednesday after decades downtown. On Monday, Naperville issued a commercial building alteration permit for the new occupant, city spokeswoman Linda LaCloche said.

A spokesperson for Eddie Bauer did not respond to a request for comment, but news reports said a number of Eddie Bauer stores across the country were closed Jan. 28, including locations in Erie, Pennsylvania; Overland Park, Kansas; and Boise, Idaho.

Vuori, which means mountain in Finnish, is known for its activewear and athleisure apparel for men and women. The company has Illinois locations in Chicago, Oak Brook and Skokie as well as an outlet store in Rosemont, according to its website.

The brand started out as a graphic T-shirt line, but founder Joe Kudla relaunched it in 2015 after struggling to find an audience. He found his inspiration in the board shorts and other apparel men were wearing in San Diego at the time, he told The New York Times.

It took off from there, and now has more than 100 locations globally, including stores in more than two dozen in countries, according to published reports. Its brand value was reported to be $5.5 billion at the end of 2024, according to an article published by Reuters.

“Vuori’s opening is consistent with a movement toward athleisure/activewear, and downtown Naperville is becoming the hub for it,” Wood said.

In recent years, Naperville has welcomed a number of athleticwear and athleisure stores to downtown, including Lululemon, Regenerate Boutique, Aerie & Offline by Aerie, ALO, Athleta, Nike Naperville and Top Fashion.

Downtown’s also seen an expansion in health, wellness and exercise businesses, and is now home to Pure Barre, Air-Aerial Fitness, Hot Yoga, Just Be Yoga Studio and Shyft Pilates. Joining the lineup will be Barry’s Bootcamp, a high-intensity fitness studio chain that’s to open later this year in Main Street Promenade East at 50 S. Main St.

The space it’s filling has been unoccupied since the Promenade opened in 2014. In addition to workout classes, they’ll also be selling apparel, accessories, and made-to-order protein shakes and wellness drinks.

cstein@chicagotribune.com

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/30/vuori-eddie-bauer-downtown-naperville/