Retail & Consumer

Payless ShoeSource

Shoe retailer bankrupted twice under PE ownership (Blum Capital, Golden Gate Capital). Closed 2,500+ stores

FOUNDED
1956
IMPACTS
1 documented

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Editorial Record

maintained by DeathbyPE. Every claim links to a public source.

Timeline

1956

Payless ShoeSource founded

2019

Payless ShoeSource bankrupted twice, closing 2,500+ stores under PE ownership

CriticalClosure / Bankruptcy

PE owners Golden Gate Capital and Blum Capital extracted dividends while loading Payless with debt, leading to two bankruptcies and the closure of nearly all stores. 16,000+ workers lost jobs.

Before / After

Stores closed

reported 2019

before 4,400 stores

after 0 (liquidated)

-100%

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