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.
To insure one’s house, one’s car or to underwrite a life insurance policy, that is common practice. But who would pay an insurance premium for his/her thumb, legs or smile? Stars, of course.
At the top of the ranking are the legs of Mariah Carey, worth 810 million USD: The diva became, in 2006, the Gillette brand muse for the advertising campaign «Legs of a Goddess». She then took out an insurance policy with London Lloyds to protect her legs, a decision that is far from being insignificant. Among its customers, the London insurer then included several icons of music, such as Bob Dylan or Rod Stewart.
David Beckham’s body insured for 195 million USD: European champion with Manchester United in 1999, David Beckham was in 2006 the most renowned footballer of the planet. In relation to his sporting activities, he took out an insurance cover for his legs. The huge amount paid for his insurance would reportedly exceed the 103 million USD disbursed by Real Madrid for the cover of Christiano Ronaldo in 2009. The fashion model would later extend his insurance cover to his entire body.
15 million USD in insurance for Kim Kardashian’s curves: The curves of Kim Kardashian are her number one beauty asset. The reality TV star, who is crazy about plastic surgery, has underwritten an insurance policy worth 15 million USD to protect her famous butt.
The culinary critic Egon Ronay assured his taste buds: The famous Hungarian culinary critic has insured his taste buds since 1957, for the amount of 400 000 USD. An original insurance policy which allows him to cover his sense of taste without which he will no longer be able to practice his job.