Payless ShoeSource - Fashion Company Profile
Payless ShoeSource - now simply Payless - was America's largest self-service family shoe chain: founded in Topeka in 1956 on the idea that customers would happily pick their own shoes off racks if the prices were low enough, it grew past 4,000 stores and became the shoe department of the American mall era. Debt from its 2012 private-equity buyout brought two bankruptcies; the second, in 2019, closed every US and Canadian store. Payless emerged in 2020 and trades on - online and through Amazon in the US, and through hundreds of franchised and owned stores abroad.
Company Snapshot
- Status
- Operating in a reduced form - Payless closed all its US and Canadian stores in 2019 after a second Chapter 11 filing, emerged from bankruptcy in January 2020, dropped 'ShoeSource' from its name that August, and now sells in the US mainly through its Amazon storefront while operating more than 700 stores in Latin America, Southeast Asia and the Middle East
- Type
- Private
- Headquarters
- Topeka, Kansas, United States (historical)
- Founded
- 1956, in Topeka, Kansas, as Pay-Less National by cousins Louis and Shaol Lee Pozez
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Company Profile
The shop box on this page points to the marketplaces where Payless shoes are actually sold today. The chain's own record - its designer collaborations, store formats and the 2006 logo - is described in the profile section below and in full on the history page.
Payless ShoeSource, Inc. is one of the largest specialty family footwear retailers in the Western Hemisphere. The company was founded in 1956 in Topeka, Kan., on a revolutionary idea - selling shoes in a self-select environment. More than 50 years later, by the historical account, Payless serves millions of customers through more than 4,500 stores in all 50 U.S. states, Puerto Rico, Guam, Saipan, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Canada, Central America, the Caribbean and South America. In fiscal 2006, Payless sold nearly 180 million pairs of shoes, generating $2.8 billion in net sales. In June 2005, Matt Rubel joined Payless as Chief Executive Officer and President, bringing leadership history from Cole Haan, J. Crew and Revlon - a cross-reference kept here, since Cole Haan has its own profile in this letter.
Payless ShoeSource History
The earlier record for this company - its history, past brand line-ups, figures and photographs from the periods described - is kept on a separate page for historical reference.
Payless ShoeSource History & Historical Profile →Common Questions
When was Payless founded, and on what idea?
In 1956, in Topeka, Kansas, on the revolutionary idea of selling shoes in a self-select environment, in the historical record.
What did Payless decide in February 2019?
To shut down its stores and e-commerce operations in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico, while continuing to sell product on Amazon and in international stores, as stated at the head of the historical profile.
Which designer collections did Payless offer?
Abaete for Payless, Lela Rose for Payless, alice + olivia for Payless and Patricia Field for Payless - unveiled at New York Fashion Week and sold in select stores and on Payless.com.
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