Pay less? The popular shoe retailer wished it could when it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2016, but the bills had to be paid somehow, and so it had no choice. The impact of the bankruptcy process was huge and involved the loss of over six hundred Payless stores across the country, along with the jobs of thousands of staff who worked in them. It was painful, but it seemed to work. In August 2017 Payless emerged from bankruptcy, restructured and alive.
Commercial credit rating providers S&P still aren't impressed though. Despite the bankruptcy process being over, there's still a fear that Payless will default on its commercial obligations. There are still 3,500 Payless stores still open, which is a lot of resourcing to maintain if the company isn't making enough money to do it. New CEO Paul Jones is more bullish, recently stating that the balance sheet is strengthening and the remaining debts have been restructured.