Sioux Falls Payless Shoes Closing

The news came out on Thursday (February 14) that all United States Payless ShoeSource stores will be closing.

At one time Sioux Falls had 4 Payless locations: The Empire Mall, Shopko East Arrowhead Parkway, Shopko West 41st, and 340 Empire Place.

According to Reuters, the discount shoe retailer plans to close all of its approximately 2,300 stores. Payless announced that it will be filing for bankruptcy later this month. This will be the second time in 2 years that the company has headed down the bankruptcy path.

Payless ShoeSource Inc. is an American discount footwear retailer headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Established in 1956 by cousins Louis and Shaol Pozez, Payless is a privately held company owned by Blum Capital and Golden Gate Capital.

Payless ShoeSource describes their culture this way on the company website, "No single thing at Payless defines our culture. In fact, it really isn’t a “thing” at all. It is our people and their passion – living our Guiding Principles, reflecting our brand through a commitment to diversity and inclusion, serving our customers and communities, and delivering outstanding business results. Our people define Payless and, simply put, they make us great."