Report: Payless Shoes To Close All U.S. Stores
According to a story today from Reuters, Payless ShoeSource Inc., will begin shutting down all 2,300 of its stores nationwide. The company intends to file bankruptcy for the second time in two years.
This will undoubtedly affect all its Maine stores as well, with locations in Bangor, Waterville, Augusta, South Portland, and others as well.
We tried reaching out to the location in the Bangor Mall, and they said they were aware of the report, but had not been contacted by company officials. We were given a phone number to verify some of these details, but that number was not in service.
Payless officials have not released a statement.
Payless had previously failed to find a buyer for the company while they consolidating a lot of their debt, but were unsuccessful. It's possible a buyer could save the day during the bankruptcy process, but they're going to move forward with plans to begin going-out-of-business sales and trying to liquidate their stock.
So, if there's a silver lining, that's it. You might be able to get out to the mall before they're gone, and take advantage of great sales. Though it doesn't sound like it's happening overnight, sales could be rolling out as soon as next week, according to that Reuters report.
Nonetheless, it could be a big blow to the Bangor Mall, with another business that is headed out.
If we get more details about an actual closing date, we will update accordingly.