On Monday, Payless ShoeSource has filed for bankruptcy. The company has also announced that it will be closing all of its 2,500 stores located in North America. Payless is a discount shoe retailer and it is decreasing its e-commerce operations. According to the Wall Street Journal, this might be the biggest retail bankruptcy ever in terms of store count.
Liquidation sales are expected to commence as soon as the stores set to close and it is expected between March and May. The company has filed bankruptcy protection for the second time in the last two years. Last time the company filed for bankruptcy In April 2017 and afterward closed 400 stores. According to Stephen Marotta, the chief restructuring officer of Payless, the company has arisen from its past restructuring ill-equipped to persist in today’s retail situation. Stephen added that previous events have left the large remaining debt on the company. Despite the company’s considerable efforts, Payless has decided to not operate in North American retail and other e-commerce.
According to the company, its stores will continue to operate as usual. These stores are located in Latin America, Guam, the US Virgin Islands, and Saipan. Payless other intercontinental franchisee sites are in India, Indochina, Indonesia, Philippines, Africa, and the Middle East. Payless in its bankruptcy filing stated that the company has employed 13,700 people in the United States, the US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and Guam and in Canada the company has employed 2,400 people. Payless said that it would owe $9.4 million to these employees in wages and benefits. The company has also requested to honor this move. The company also said that it plans to honor customer gift cards until March 11. The company has now joined other brands like Gymboree, Charlotte Russe and Shopko who have also filed for liquidation in 2019.
