Payless ShoeSource Emerges From Bankruptcy With Plans Of A Comeback

LOS ANGELES -- Payless ShoeSource will attempt to reinvent itself as it emerges from bankruptcy protection.

Representatives for Payless, once a top seller of discounted shoes, boots, sandals and accessories in the U.S., said the company will focus on international markets, such as Latin America. It also plans to relaunch its U.S. e-commerce site, and there is talk of re-opening some of the more than 2,000 shuttered stores in North America. However, there are no confirmed details.

The struggling discount retailer, based in Kansas, filed for Chapter 11 in April 2017, and again in February 2019. The latest bankruptcy filing, however, didn't affect the company's franchises or stores in Latin America—its largest international market—nor in Southeast Asia or the Middle East.