Report: Payless looking to close 1,000 stores

The retail industry has had a rough ride, with more and more companies announcing massive store closures over the past several months.

Faced with increased competition from discount online stores and a constantly changing industry landscape, retailers have been forced to closed brick-and-mortar locations in order to focus on ways to increase overall performance.

Read more: These 9 retailers are closing nearly 1,000 stores this year

Payless looking to close 1,000 stores this year

According to a report from Bloomberg, it looks like Payless may be the next company looking to downsize.

‘Payless is the latest retailer to find its back against the wall because of declining mall traffic as more and more customers shift spending to experience from shoes and apparel,’ Bloomberg reports.

On top of that, the chain is struggling with the same thing all traditional retailers face these days: a massive shift to online shopping — which has made stores in malls no longer necessary for many American consumers.

The discount shoe retailer has more than 4,400 stores in 30 countries, and like many other retailers, the company just has too many stores and too much debt to be successful.

Payless currently has about $600 million in debt, including a $520 million term loan due in four years, according to Bloomberg.

‘People with knowledge of the matter” told Bloomberg that bankruptcy could be an option if lenders don’t allow the chain to close around 1,000 locations — a move that could help the company with its ‘unsustainable debt load.’

Here’s a look at more retailers on the brink of bankruptcy in 2017.

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