Payless ShoeSource to close

TOPEKA, KANSAS - The discount shoe store Payless Shoesource is about to file for bankruptcy and close all of its US stores, according to a company spokesperson.

Payless is currently owned by Blum Capital and Golden Gate Capital. The company operates 3,600 locations worldwide with more than 100 sites across Southern California including 17 stores in Orange County.

Speaking to CNN Business laate Friday a company spokesperson confirmed that the chain will file for bankruptcy by the end of the month, its second such filing in less than two years. Although it remains possible that a buyer might still emerge, preparations to close all 2,100 of the company’s locations in the United States and Puerto Rico are under way.

The spokesperson confirmed that liquidation sales will begin in most stores on Sunday and that stores will begin closing their doors for good in March, though some will stay open through May. Payless.com, the company’s online outlet will also be closed. The company’s international franchises and Latin American stores will not be affected.

Payless was founded in Topeka, Kansas in 1956 by two cousins, Louis and Shaol Pozez who sought to offer self-service stores selling affordable footwear. Today the company lists more than 3,600 locations in over 40 countries worldwide and employs more than 18,000 associates, according to a news release the company issued in September.

The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April 2017. At that time Payless listed some 4,400 locations in more than 30 countries. During the restructuring that followed the company shuttered some 800 stores. Payless currently lists 18,000 staff worldwide.

Payless is the latest brick-and-mortar retailer to suffer as customers continue to move toward online shopping options - Toys "R" Us, Brookstone and clothing store Charlotte Russe having previously closed. That shift has hurt traditional retailers, even low-price outlets such as Payless.

The outlook for brick-and-mortar retailers continues to look dim. Bankruptcies and store closures will continue through 2019 according to a report by Coresight Research. “There is no light at the end of the tunnel,” the report concludes, as quoted by USA Today.

"The pace of disruption in retail is widely acknowledged," Greg Portell, a partner at consulting firm A.T. Kearney, told CNN Business. "Yet, the pace of change inside retailers continues to lag. Many retailers find themselves trapped in a cycle of continuing to chase consumer trends ... Without bold action, the retail landscape will continue to be scattered with bankruptcies."

Payless’ Orange County locations include Mainplace Mall, Cypress Fashion Plaza, Buena Park Mall and The Village at Orange, as well as the Market Place and Crossroads Center in Irvine.

(Image courtesy J.C. Reindl, Detroit Free Press)