Payless ShoeSource stores opened in 1956 based on a revolutionary idea that shoe shoppers did not need a one-on-one relationship with a salesperson to pick out their own footwear.
Payless ShoeSource has filed for bankruptcy and will close two of the five Payless stores in the Coastal Bend. The discount shoe chain is closing 400 stores nationwide as part of a Chapter 11 reorganization bankruptcy petition filed April 5 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.
Stores due to close are located at 1813 South Padre Island Drive in Corpus Christi and 2664 Demory Lane in Aransas Pass.
Stores remaining open are at 4101 Interstate 69 Access Road in Five Points, 5425 South Padre Island Drive in Moore Plaza and 5488 South Padre Island Drive in La Palmera Mall.
The company is closing locations deemed underperforming, Payless CEO Paul Jones said.
“We will build a stronger Payless for our customers, vendors and suppliers, associates, business partners and other stakeholders through this process,” he said in a statement.
He added that the company will begin to invest in its online sales and expand its product lines.
With about 4,400 stores in more than 30 countries, the Topeka-based company lists assets at $1 billion with $10 billion in liabilities. It has 100,000 creditors.
The largest speciality family footwear retailer in the Western Hemisphere, Payless was founded in 1956 in Topeka, Kansas. The goal was to sell quality shoes at an affordable price in a store where people could self-select. Before Payless, shoe salesmen on bended knees were the norm when shopping for footwear.
