The Payless ShoeSource location on 2332 Gallia Street in Portsmouth. The operation is one of 21 Payless ShoeSource locations in Ohio that will close.
Kevin Colley | Daily Times
The “store closing” size that is hung on the side of the Payless ShoeSource location on 2332 Gallia Street in Portsmouth.
Kevin Colley | Daily Times
It’s always difficult to see a well-renown brick-and-mortar business close its doors for the final time.
The Payless ShoeSource, located at 2332 Gallia Street in Portsmouth, will unfortunately be subject to such a fate as the Portsmouth location was one of 800 Payless ShoeSource locations that will be closed by the Topeka, Kan.-based company. It is the latest victim in the growing trend of online shopping, which has already claimed Gander Mountain and HHGregg.
Portsmouth’s closing, which was made official on the Payless ShoeSource website in its May Store Closing List, is among 21 locations that will close across the Buckeye State. The company officially filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on April 4 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri “to facilitate the financial and operational restructuring necessary to strengthen its balance sheet and position the Company for long-term success,” according to an official statement from the company regarding its reorganization plans.
“Although Payless ShoeSource is not a Chamber of Commerce member, we hate to see the loss of another retailer, and more importantly, the loss of jobs,” Lisa Carver, Executive Director of the Portsmouth Area Chamber of Commerce, said. “Unfortunately, it’s getting harder and harder for the brick-and-mortar stores to compete with online shopping trends.”
Payless’ departure, however, doesn’t affect just Portsmouth. In fact, 15 additional cities in Ohio will be affected by the change, including Cincinnati, Columbus, and Lancaster, who lost multiple stores.
“We intend to use the Chapter 11 process to implement a comprehensive path forward to meaningfully enhance our growth profile and profitability, positioning us to continue to thrive as a sustainable business in the face of the retail industry’s radical, unprecedented transformation,” the reorganization statement said. “Payless has the strong support of its senior lenders for a consensual restructuring through a Plan Support Agreement (PSA) to reduce debt, materially lower annual cash interest costs, access significant additional capital, and provide a clear path to emergence on an expedited basis. Payless has also negotiated agreements with certain of its existing lenders to provide the Company access of up to $385 million of Debtor-in-Possession financing.”
It was not disclosed when the Portsmouth location, or any of the additional 20 Payless ShoeSource stores that are closing in Ohio, would be closed.
List of closures in Ohio:
Akron
Chapel Hill Mall
Boardman
Southern Park Mall, 7401 Market Street
Cincinnati
642 Race Street
Delhi Shopping Center
Cleveland
4071 Lee Road
Columbus
Eastland Mall
3390 S. High Street
Easton Gateway, 4175 Weaverton Lane
Eastlake
Vineyard Plaza
Elyria
Midway Mall
Lancaster
805 Memorial Drive
River Valley Mall, 1635 River Valley Circle
Lima
East Gate Shopping Center
Massillon
1932 Lincoln Way E.
Mentor
Creekside Commons, 9575 Mentor Avenue
Miamisburg
71 S. Springboro Pike
Mount Vernon
Knox Village Square
Great Lakes Mall, 7850 Mentor Avenue
Reynoldsburg
Broad Street Plaza East, 8126 East Broad Street
Springdale
Tri-County Mall
