Here’s when Merced and Atwater Payless Shoes stores are set to close for good
The final two Payless ShoeSource locations in Merced County are set to close along with the remaining stores in North America following the company’s filing of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The filing on Monday came a day after the shoe chain began holding going-out-of-business sales at its North American stores.
The company, based in Topeka, Kansas, updated the number of stores it is closing to 2,500, up from the 2,100 it cited on Friday when it confirmed it was planning to liquidate its business.
Employees at the Merced Mall location and the store at 1106 Commerce Ave. in Atwater confirmed the locations would close but said they were not given an exact date.
Payless reiterated that stores will remain open until at least the end of March and the majority will remain open until May. The liquidation doesn’t affect its franchise operations or its Latin American stores, which remain open for business as usual, it said.
The debt-burdened chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection a first time in April 2017, closing hundreds of stores as part of its reorganization. Los Banos’ single location and a Merced location shuttered during that wave.
“The challenges facing retailers today are well documented, and unfortunately, Payless emerged from its prior reorganization ill-equipped to survive in today’s retail environment,” said Stephen Marotta, Payless ShoeSource’s chief restructuring officer.
He noted that the prior Chapter 11 proceedings left the company with too much debt and with too many stores.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
