|
The
retailer will close about 2,500 stores in North America starting
from the end of March and wind down its e-commerce operations.
Reuters had reported last week that the company was planning to
close its stores when it files for bankruptcy for the second
time in as many years.
"The prior proceedings left the company with too much remaining
debt, too large a store footprint and a yet-to-be realized
systems and corporate overhead structure consolidation," Chief
Restructuring Officer Stephen Marotta said.
Stores outside North America were not included in the Chapter 11
filing and will continue operations, the retailer added.
Payless said it intends to seek protection for its Canadian
subsidiaries under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA)
in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
The company exited bankruptcy in 2017 with about $400 million in
loans, after slashing its debt pile from over $800 million,
according to court papers.
The move makes Payless one of the most high-profile victims of
the string of bankruptcies that have hit the brick-and-mortar
retail sector as more shopping is done online. Toys "R" Us and
The Bon-Ton Stores are among the retailers that shut their
stores in liquidations in the last 12 months.
Payless listed both assets and liabilities in a range of $500
million to $1 billion in a filing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court
for the Eastern District of Missouri.
(Reporting by Ishita Chigilli Palli in Bengaluru; Editing by
Subhranshu Sahu and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
[© 2019 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2019 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
