Payless ShoeSource Closing Nine Pittsburgh-Area Stores

Nine Payless ShoeSource stores in western Pennsylvania will be among the 400 the discount footwear chain is closing immediately in the wake of its bankruptcy filing on Tuesday.

Payless will shutter its stores in South Hills Village, Monroeville Mall, The Mall at Robinson, Washington Crown Center, Pittsburgh Mills, Aliquippa Shopping Center and locations in Greensburg, Mt. Pleasant and Lower Burrell.

Payless filed a Chapter 11 reorganization petition in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Missouri that stated the company has as much as $10 billion in liabilities and more than 100,000 creditors. Payless also listed as much as $1 billion in assets.

“This is a difficult, but necessary, decision driven by the continued challenges of the retail environment, which will only intensify,” Payless CEO W. Paul Jones said in a statement.

Among the Payless locations in western Pennsylvania remaining open: Cranberry Commons, Dormont Village Shopping Center, West Mifflin, Ross Park Mall, Penn Hills, McKeesport and Belle Vernon.

Photo by Mike Mozart via Creative Commons.