March 29, 2024
Payless closing all U.S.stores
TOPEKA, KS--Payless ShoeSource confirmed Friday that it will close its 2,100 stores in the U.S. and Puerto Rico and start liquidation sales Sunday. The company is also shuttering its e-commerce operations.

The closings mark the biggest by a single chain this year and nearly doubles the number of retail stores set to close in 2019.

"We expect all stores to remain open until at least the end of March and the majority will remain open until May," the company said in a statement to USA TODAY. "This process does not affect the company’s franchise operations or its Latin American stores, which remain open for business as usual.”

On Wednesday, Coresight Research released an outlook of 2019 store closures that said there was "no light at the end of the tunnel."

Prior to the Payless announcement, 2,187 store closings had been announced in the first six weeks of the year, according to the global market research firm's report. This represented a 23 percent increase over the same time period last year.

Those closings include 749 Gymboree stores, 251 Shopko stores and 94 Charlotte Russe locations.

In 2018, 5,524 stores closed, according to Coresight Research.

The discount shoe retailer had previously filed for bankruptcy protection in April 2017 and closed 400 stores. (Source: USA Today)
Story Date: February 17, 2019
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