Paylesswill shutter all 2,100 company-owned stores in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, according to the Associated Press. The retailer also will wind down its e-Commerce operations, but franchise and Latin America locations will continue operating as usual.
The stores started liquidating on Feb. 17, with the company filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the second time in three years. All will remain open until the end of March, with the majority remaining open until May. The company had reportedly been weighing its options for bankruptcy prior to the announcement.
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Payless previously entered bankruptcy proceedings in April 2017. The chain emerged from bankruptcy that August with 3,500 stores (down from 4,400) after eliminating more than $435 million in debt.The retailer still has approximately $470 million in outstanding debt, according to the bankruptcy filing.
