America is ‘over-stored’ and Payless is latest victim
Payless ShoeSource became the latest major retailer to declare financial distress when, on Tuesday, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and announced a restructuring plan that includes the immediate closure of 400 stores in the United States and Puerto Rico.
Further closures are possible as the company works “to aggressively manage the remaining real estate lease portfolio.”
Meanwhile, Payless said in a statement it will reduce its debt load by almost half and increase its presence in the e-commerce space.
“This is a difficult, but necessary, decision driven by the continued challenges of the retail environment, which will only intensify,” Payless CEO W. Paul Jones said in a statement. “We will build a stronger Payless for our customers, vendors and suppliers, associates, business partners and other stakeholders through this process.”
The shoe store was founded in Topeka, Kansas, in 1956, during the postwar boom and eventually expanded to about 4,400 locations in more than 30 countries. The company, which focuses on “everyday and special occasion shoes ... at affordable prices,” bills itself as the “largest specialty family footwear retailer in the Western Hemisphere.”
Succumbing to market forces
Recently, though, the footgear empire has struggled. According to Moody’s, Payless’s revenue fell 4 percent from October 2015 to October 2016.
Celebrities such as Tyra Banks, Sam Worthington and, for a time, Star Jones either wore or hawked the company’s low-cost footwear; but such endorsements proved no match for market pressures that have affected many major retail giants that once seemed indomitable.
During the first three months of 2017, nine major retailers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, CNBC reported, which “puts the industry on pace for the highest number of such filings since 2009, when 18 retailers resorted to that action.”
Moody’s, last month, listed 19 retailers as financially distressed, including Sears, J. Crew and Gymboree. Macy’s, J.C. Penney, RadioShack and The Limited are just a few of the companies that have announced closures this year.
“It’s been a downward spiral for traditional retailers,” Christian Magoon, CEO of Amplify ETFs, told CNN Money.
The rise of Amazon and online shopping are often cited a cause for the troubles of brick-and-mortar retailers.
“The model of online retailers is winning out,” Magoon said. “They are more competitive on pricing, they have better selection, and their convenience level is quite high.”