Payless makes comeback with launch of new e-commerce platform
Retailer plans to open 300 to 500 locations across North America over the next five years
Payless is making a comeback just in time for back-to-school season with the launch of a new website on Tuesday.
"We're back and bringing more community responsibility, fashion-forward footwear, and on-trend partnerships to our 60M+ Payless customers who have missed us," said Payless CEO Jared Margolis in a press release. "We saw an opportunity for the brand to relaunch into the US market, providing our community with the affordable, value driven products they've always searched for, now across multiple categories, at a time when value couldn't be more critical."
The footwear retailer has undergone a name change, dropping "Shoesource" from its official brand name, but it still plans to offer "the same, unparalleled commitment to providing value to their community, now across a range of apparel, accessories, and footwear."
San Francisco, United States - April 8, 2014: Shoppers visit Payless Shoesource footwear store in San Francisco, USA. There were approximately 660 Payless ShoeSource stores in North America in 2011.
The move comes after Payless announced in January that it was reemerging from its second Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2019 that shuttered its remaining 2,100 locations in North America.
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
Payless also plans to open 300 to 500 free-standing stores across North America over the next five years, beginning with the launch of the first prototype store in Miami, Florida, near Payless' headquarters. The retailer currently operates 700 stores internationally that were unaffected by the bankruptcy, including 298 franchise locations and 412 Latin and Central America locations.
The new stores will have an updated design that "reinvent the way we shop," including new digital components such as smart mirrors, touchscreen wall panels, and a "first-of-its-kind Augmented Reality foot comparison chart."
Payless said it will offer the same apparel, accessories and footwear as it once had. Consumers can now shop online for various labels including Airwalk, American Eagle, K-Swiss, Kendall + Kylie and Aerosoles, among others.