After over half a century of selling footwear at an affordable price, Payless ShoeSource is closing. The low-priced footwear retailer recently announced that it filed for bankruptcy, with plans to wind down shoe sales in all of its 2,500 North American stores as early as late-March.
In a media statement, Chief Restructuring Officer of Payless, Stephen Marotta, said, “We have worked diligently with our suppliers and other partners to best position Payless for the future amidst significant structural, operational and market challenges. Despite these efforts, we now must wind down our North American retail operations under Chapter 11 and the CCAA. “
Marotta did add that the company’s stores in Latin America and its international franchisee stores (in 16 countries across the globe) will remain open for business.
If you have a #Payless ShoeSource gift card or store credit, you've got less than 3 weeks to use it. https://t.co/7W8msMx34u
— AP Business News (@APBusiness) February 20, 2019
When can you expect to see your local Payless store’s last day? Some stores may close by the end of March. The remaining stores will continue the liquidation process (in other words—major sale prices for you) through the end of May. Online shoppers already know that the retailer recently stopped taking web-based orders. But you can still buy Payless shoes on Amazon—for now.
As part of its bankruptcy filing, Payless is asking the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for permission to continue honoring gift cards and store credits through Mar. 11, 2019. Customers seeking returns or exchanges need to take action ASAP. If your Payless purchase was made prior to the company’s filing (Feb. 17, 2019) it’s likely that you’ll only have until Mar. 1, 2019 to get your money back.
While this certainly isn’t the way this long-standing footwear giant saw its business going, Marotta added, “On behalf of the entire company, I’d like to express our deep appreciation for the hard work of our dedicated employees and their commitment to Payless customers, who have shown us tremendous loyalty for more than 60 years. We are also grateful for the many years of support by our suppliers and vendors, and we look forward to continuing to work with them to support our remaining operations.”
—Erica Loop
Featured Photo: Rawpixel via Pexels
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