Payless Shoe Source

Payless ShoeSource was an American discount footwear retailer headquartered in Topeka, Kansas in 1956 by cousins Louis and Shaol Pozez that is owned by Collective Brands, Inc. In 1961, it became a public company as the Volume Shoe Corporation which merged with the May Department Stores Company in 1979. In the 1980s, Payless was widely known in the U.S. for its Pro Wings line of discount sneakers, which often had Velcro straps instead of laces. In 1996, Payless ShoeSource became an independent publicly held company. In 2004, Payless ShoeSource announced it would exit the Parade chain and would close 100 Payless Shoe outlets. On August 17, 2007, the company acquired the Stride Rite Corporation and changed its name to Collective Brands, Inc. The company had a total revenue for 2011 of US$3.4 billion. It was announced on May 1, 2012 that the company would be purchased by Wolverine World Wide, Blum Capital, and Golden Gate Capital for US$1.32 billion.
On February 14, 2019, Payless ShoeSource filed for bankruptcy again and will close its e-commerce platform and all remaining 2,100 stores in United States. On February 19, 2019, it was announced that all 248 stores in Canada would also close. Its franchise operations and stores in other countries will not be affected.
=== Key dates ===
* 1956: Pay-Less National is founded in Topeka, Kansas, by two cousins, Louis and Shaol Pozez, to open self-service stores selling budget footwear.
* 1962: The company goes public as Volume Distributors.
* 1967: The company is renamed Volume Shoe Corporation; an accelerated expansion program is launched.
* 1978: The Payless ShoeSource name is adopted for the bulk of the company's retail outlets.
* 1979: Volume Shoe is acquired by the May Department Stores Company.
* 1991: The company name is changed to Payless ShoeSource, Inc.
* 1996: May spins Payless off to shareholders, making it once again an independent, publicly traded firm.
* 1997: The mid-priced shoe chain Parade of Shoes is acquired from J. Baker, Inc.; the first Canadian Payless stores open.
* 1999: The firm launches e-commerce at payless.com; Payless opens locations on the sales floor inside Shopko discount stores, replacing J. Baker.
* 2000: Payless enters into a joint venture to expand into the Central American region.
* 2004: As part of a major restructuring, Payless announces that it will close down the Parade chain and close hundreds of Payless ShoeSource outlets.
* 2012: Collective Brands Inc., which owns footwear brands such as Sperry Top-Sider and Keds as well as the retailer Payless ShoeSource, will be split in two by multiple buyers, Wolverine Worldwide, Blum Capital and Golden Gate Capital, in a purchase valued at $2 billion, including debt.
* 2017: Payless Shoesource filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy and closed 400 stores nationwide.
* 2019: Payless to file for second bankruptcy
== 2017 bankruptcy ==
In April 2017, the company, struggling with the migration of retail shopping to e-commerce, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. It plans to immediately liquidate nearly 400 stores in the United States and Canada. Prior to the bankruptcy, heavily loaded with debt due to a private equity buy out, the company's credit rating was downgraded by Moody's. It has $100 million in loans that will come due in the next five years. The company's bankruptcy announcement was part of a trend of retail closures in 2016–2017 known as the retail apocalypse.
Payless emerged from bankruptcy court protection in August 2017. The company was the first among a group of retailers going through bankruptcy since 2016 to successfully complete the process of restructuring.
== 2019 bankruptcy and liquidation ==
On February 14, 2019, Payless ShoeSource filed for bankruptcy again and will close all 2,100 stores in the United States, by May 2019. On February 19, 2019, it announced would also close 248 stores in Canada. The 790 stores across Latin America and internationally will not be affected.Category:Shoe stores
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