Payless ShoeSource may have closed its last U.S. stores in June, but it’s already planning a comeback.
The Topeka, Kansas-based company announced in a news release Thursday that it has emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the second time. The footwear company says it will have a focus on international markets and wants to reinvigorate its largest business unit, Latin America.
Payless, which is still selling some of its shoes on Amazon.com, says it will also relaunch its U.S. e-commerce site and open some physical stores in the U.S. Specific details, including a timeline, were not available.
Jared Margolis, the company’s new CEO, said in a statement that officials “intend to leverage Payless’ existing infrastructure” to provide the new Payless “the ability to be nimble, innovative, and to fast-track our biggest growth opportunity: The United States.”
Payless filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February and shuttered its remaining 2,000-plus stores in North America by the end of June.
The 62-year-old chain also filed for Chapter 11 in 2017, cut debts and closed nearly 700 struggling stores. The latest bankruptcy filing didn’t affect its more than 710 franchises or stores in Latin America, Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
Nationwide, more than 9,200 store closings were announced in 2019 and Payless accounted for the largest number of closures, according to global marketing research firm Coresight Research.
