Latin America, Caribbean remain untouched

This action comes after months of speculation that the retailer was on less than steady financial ground.

CEO W. Paul Jones said in a statement the decision was “difficult but necessary, driven by the continued challenges of the retail environment which will only intensify.” However, there are plans to invest heavily in areas where the stores are still experiencing growth such as Latin America.

According to a report on Forbes.

com, the retailer was pursuing bankruptcy in order to reinvest money in areas where it believed there were still opportunities to expand. In an attempt to find out the status of local stores, Newsday was directed to Meghan Spreer, the shoe store’s Strategic Communications Adviser in Topeka, Kansas.

Spreer said the company did not expect to close any of its stores in Latin America, including Trinidad and Tobago. According to Spreer, international expansion remained a priority to Payless and the company planned to open 22 new locations throughout the region though she was not able to say in which territories.

The Forbes.com report said Payless has entered into an agreement to reduce its debt by almost 50 percent and as well as negotiated up to US$385 million of debtor-in-possession financing from existing lenders to help keep the business running and successfully emerge from bankruptcy.

The company’s bankruptcy documents listed its current liabilities as ranging from US$1 billion to US$10 billion, while its assets ranged from US$500 million to US$1 billion.

The company has suffered the fate of many US retailers who are finding it difficult to compete as brick and mortar stores against online shopping.

Payless is also expected to renegotiate terms with several of the leaseholders of their 4,400 stores around the world.