Cedar Rapids, Coralville Payless stores spared from initial closings

Payless ShoeSource stores in Cedar Rapids and Coralville have been spared from a round of closings connected to the retailer's bankruptcy filing.

The bargain shoe store chain announced Tuesday that it had filed for bankruptcy protection and would immediately shutter up to 400 stores.

While two Iowa locations are on the list to be closed, stores at Lindale Mall in Cedar Rapids and at Coral Ridge Mall in Coralville were not included.

Payless will close a store in Kimberly Commons in Davenport and another at Citicentre Plaza in Carroll. The company suggested shoppers at the Davenport store could travel to a location in Moline, Ill., while those in Carroll could continue shopping online.

The company also operates a number of stores in Iowa, including locations in Dubuque, Waterloo, West Burlington, Marshalltown and the Des Moines metro area. Although it plans to immediately close the 400 stores in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, Payless did not rule out future closures.

In a statement, Payless said it plans to 'optimize its store footprint, with the immediate closure of nearly 400 underperforming locations” and managing its remaining leases, 'or evaluating closures of additional locations.”

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

Payless, based in Topeka, Kan., is just the latest retailer to file for bankruptcy, as the more traditional companies contend with declining mall visits and consumer shifts to more online shopping.

Other retailers shuttering stores recently include American Apparel, Limited Stores and Gordmans, the Omaha, Neb.-based chain that filed for bankruptcy last month.

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