Author: Julianne Parker, Bankruptcy Attorney
Payless ShoeSource has filed its second bankruptcy in 2 years. It first filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in 2017. It restructured its $435 million in debt and closed approximately 500 of its stores in the original bankruptcy. In its second bankruptcy, filed on February 18, 2019, it plans to close all its 2,500 stores located in North America, though some franchised and Latin American stores may remain open. Store closings are scheduled to begin in March 2019 and should be completed by May 21, 2019. Payless claims it has approximately $470 million in outstanding debt that it cannot pay. Payless, like many brick-and-mortar retailers, has suffered in recent years and more and more consumers look to online retailers for their purchases. Approximately 16,000 Payless employees will lose their jobs.
If consumers have any Payless gift cards or store credits, they may redeem them through March 11, 2019. The deadline for returns or exchanges is March 11, 2019, provided the items were purchased before February 17, 2019.