The Payless location you show at the end of the video in that dead shopping center, I went to that one growing up. It's at the corner of Rainbow and Spring Mountain in Las Vegas. Sadly, the whole Plaza is abandoned. Used to have a Kmart as well. All that's left is the burger King on the corner in a standalone building. I miss going to Payless. It's hard to find good cheap shoes.
Really also had some fun times there also some other parts you can look into try Fedco stores used to be around there when I was a kid or Tower Records anyway have a look also hear about troubling times too with those Amazon and Starbucks strikes.
Man PayLess was a life saver for my mom, she was a widowed mom of 2 and adopted 2 of my cousins whom she raised like her children and she did not speak English. Going to Payless was our chance to "splurge" which meant we could get 2 pairs of whatever shoes we wanted, say what you will about Payless and their products, but it kept affordable shoes on the feet of millions of Americans, and for that I will always remember it fondly.
@@This_tub That's nice. But don't police the good memories people have. There is nothing wrong with looking back fondly at the good things that happened in an otherwise bad life. That gives us what we need to go forward and grow.
Oh boy. You know I think these private equity firms were started just to make all these businesses go bankrupt. The controllers want to change the face of everything, along with its substance. Something has to be done about them.
I love Payless. It was affordable and that was the only shoes my parents could afford while I was in middle school and high school. Nowadays, shoes prices are getting ridiculous…
That's good to hear but my memories are completely different. I lived in the US in 1992-1993 as a student, always broke, one internship, two side jobs... but even then Payless was the least desirable. Not only the quality was well below what one could find in an average European shop, Payless never had my size. They sold only "regular" (i.e. too narrow) fit. Meanwhile even low-end big-box stores like K-mart or Ames *sometimes* had the right fit for me at slashed prices.
From what I remember in the 2000s they did carry wides, so it wasn't just "regular" at that point. It was my go to after trying a few other places like Macy's (too expensive) and K-Mart (you can only pick 1: on discount, not butt ugly, or fits right).
Shoe prices are cheaper considering inflation. Those shoes we bought back then were junk, they fell apart in months no different than the cheap sub $30 pairs you can buy at Wal-Mart today. Cheap shoes make sense for a kid whose feet are growing, but otherwise are junk. When you get older you buy a good pair of shoes for $60+ that will last for years or longer. In the long run if you're buying junk shoes you'll find yourself spending more than if you just saved for a good pair.
All these comments are full of people claiming they loved Payless, yet they went out of business because no one was shopping there anymore lol. So how many shoes did you actually buy there as an adult??
Private equity is the Devil. The group that got Payless was Satan himself. Sure, the employees got hosed, but the real losers were the entities that lend to them.
Hell, our local Target has MAYBE a dozen or so shoe options in the store. I go there when I just need some $10-15 cheap canvas shoe for roaming the house or slipping on to hit up a drive thru for some 10pm munchies. I'm not buying anything decent there.
@@MSROnline001 No one should be surprised at this point. You've got to be blinder than the blind to not see corporations like Walmart cornering the market this shamelessly.
That's kind of how it works with everything. Quality creates competition. Once the competition is gone, quality goes with it. Because where are you going to find cheap identical products going forward if there's no competition?
The death of brick and mortar stores and now physical media has been really jarring. It makes the world we live in now feel lifeless. No going to Blockbuster to prepare for movies night, no walking the halls of the mall on a Friday evening chatting with your friends, no radio shack or other stores for oddball electronics, etc.
"It makes the world we live in now feel lifeless" More like it erases YOU, nothing physical left behind just an array of cheap trash and digital subscriptions The one time in human history with an unparalleled and unlimited number of options to record and catalog every day life and instead everyone is being corralled into digital pens that leave no footprints. Controlling history is easy when there's no markers to show who was there, what evidence do you have to say my revisionism is a lie?
Wait till robotic people become cashiers and workers . A machine already cleans Walmart's floors and self checkout. The future will be robot bakers and such taking over. That's the future it seems to be happening
@Ladybug83me there will always be a human element, pure automation is both bad for companies and bad for production. It won't evolve much past what we have now, self checkouts and self scanning locations while actual people restock and answer questions and are there to do more in depth tasks
At some point we'll reach a point we no longer need to work to survive. Work will be more for socialization and working with others to pursue whatever creative endeavors we agree upon. After all machines will never be able to replace human connection. That said... that connection may be very different from the 1950s.
I get it but sometimes progress requires getting rid of things. It’s easier for some people who don’t have cars or who live in areas where cars are impractical to get the things they want and need. They turned grocery store near me into a large storage facility and it’s now a delivery/pickup location for the same grocery chain. I like being able to shop on my way home or without leaving home. It’s raining out and I don’t feel like going out, plus my car is broken down atm and otherwise I’d have to catch a bus and limit my grocery shopping while getting what I need within 30-45 min or wait another hour for the next bus. Or I can get everything I need delivered without leaving home. But I get what you mean. I remember planning movie nights and renting video games- I think that nostalgia will keep some of those things alive.
I'm only 22, but I remember Payless, GAP, Kmart, Toys 'R Us, Blockbuster, fye, RadioShack, Wet Seal, etc. It's really weird and sad to watch all of my childhood stores fade into irrelevance
@@vaderladyl IKR? I'm 52 also and ironically, used to be an area manager for Payless. Was talking to a headhunter just the other day because after Payless went out I got tired of being told id no longer have a job and decided to not look for another and have been out of the workplace since. I was joking with them that I had concerns if I could even GET a job now based on my age, shelf life of being off of work for so long, and the fact that my resume would be very difficult to get references for. WHY, you ask? Well simply, I also appear to be supremely bad luck to hire......... because almost everyplace I have ever worked is no longer in business hahaha. Sadly I was still ON several of those ships when they went down. Prior to being the area manager at Payless I was a district manager at Blockbuster, and before that general manager for Circuit City. Prior to that a manager for Goodwill, preceded by Aldi (which are the oddballs in the middle where I first got into management and somehow are both still in business). Everything prior to Aldi from my youth is also shut down. Among those are KB Toys, Montgomery Ward, Incredible Universe (owned by Tandy/Radio Shack) and Ponderosa Steakhouse, preceded by my first job at an unknown mom and pop ice cream store I worked at at age 14 (also out of business). The recruiter had a good laugh with me over that. I do have an interview coming soon. Wish me (and them LOL) good luck with that :)
46 here. Unreal just how many are not longer here...Montgomery Wards, Sears, Musicland, Bridgeman's, Ben Franklin hobby, Super Value, Dayton's, Egghead Software, Software Etc, Buca, Kmart...except in the usvi which was still there the last time I was there anyways...back in 2014
I know. Sad thing is we need that variety now more then ever. Mainly because the internet is almost entirely untrustworthy and people want and need niche dedicated stores with cheap prices.
So often, when companies get so large, they suddenly fail. One interesting factor though is that in nearly all cases, a management company come in to try to save the business. They almost always fail. Why is that? Maybe an episode looking into some of these businesses would be of interest as seemingly, they come in to strip out any value and then shut up everything else.
I think you answered your own question. The companies that come in aren't trying to save the brand. They're there to make money. And they're not interested in long term growth and slow in 5 or 10 years. They do whatever they can to make short term profits now, and that always means selling off whatever they can, or borrowing to buy other companies, because even if it cripples the company next year, they've made their money this year.
Another victim of private equity and the scourge of the leveraged buy out. The failure of Payless is a real shame and a genuine loss to the American consumer. Their products were of decent quality at really solid prices. If it wasn't for the greed of short term gains over long term success by these venture capital firms, there's really no reason this brand shouldn't still exist today. As you said. they needed a visual refresh of their stores. They also needed to dump all of their mall locations and focus on their standalones, especially the ones in high traffic strip malls and urban areas. There was a distinct difference in the foot traffic in their stores in high traffic locations versus dying malls and standalones without another consumer draw nearby. They were a generally liked brand, and their absence has left a void in the market. Great video as always!
Payless and Gamestop were the kings of the strip mall. Also thrived in downtowns with large working class and ethnic populations in the northeast. Walmart probably did not help for rural locations.
@@dannydaw59I went under w the company in 2019. They had their own brands. American eagle was “American Eagle by Payless” and same with the Champion brand. I have a 190gal tote FULL of shoes I purchased while working there + two smaller totes. As a manager at the end of it all, I can say this really tugs on the heart strings because we built a small little family and to just throw us away without anything but a small bonus because I cleared out the store for them, is a big slap in the face and the fact they tried to reopen probably pissed each one of us off.
I got my wedding shoes, simple white satin ballet flats, at Payless, in 2005. Our store was a standalone unit, in front of a Winn-Dixie and a Frank's Nursery & Crafts, in the same shopping center as a Blockbuster video, a Ponderosa restaurant, a Shoney's restaurant, and the Pizza Hut where I first met my husband. Now, the Payless is a Hardee's restaurant, the Winn-Dixie a Walmart Neighborhood Store, and the Frank's is a collision center. I guess that's a car repair place. The Ponderosa and the Shoney's are gone of course, too, replaced respectively by a Chinese Buffet, and first a Golden Corral buffet, which is now a place called Umami Buffet (I have no clue lol). Likewise, the Blockbuster is now a small mattress store. But the Pizza Hut-though remodeled-is still going strong, lol! It's the only part of that shopping center, and my childhood/young adult memories of it, that hasn't changed. Kind of sad, really...
We used to get nearly all our shoes from Payless when I was a kid/teen, lotta very specific sensory memories associated with our local strip mall Payless outlet. When they went out of business, I was a college freshman and had just recently purchased a pair of comfy everyday zip-up boots, I'd been struggling for ages to find a set in that style, of good build quality, that had an actual decent tread/sole on them at any other outlet, but Payless had come through for me with the PERFECT pair thay checked all the boxes. So even though the boots were brand new, when the closure was announced I went and stood in line amongst the "everything must go" clearance sales to get an second identical pair at a MASSIVE discount to hold onto and eventually replace the first boots when they wore out, since I wouldn't be able to just go back to the store for another pair when they wore out a few years down the road. But the original boots were such good quality and durability that I still haven't taken the "backup" pair outta the box! They're in my closet waiting for their day to come, probably in the next year or so, one last pair of "new" shoes from Payless.
As soon as I heard the words “private equity firm” and “leverage buyout”, I knew what would come next as that’s always the kiss of death for businesses. Great video BSF!!!
That was the other store in our shopping plaza. Toys R Us and A.C. Moore (I worked at the latter) closed and it’s pretty much a dead zone over there now.
I'll always remember Payless with fondness since most of the shoes i used to get as a kid came from either Payless or K-Mart. Not only they were comfortable shoes but also affordable, here in Puerto Rico they were quite popular among familes with low income or middle class, the one i used to visit was cool since it had a second floor filled with a lot of shoes, from TomMcAnn to Sketchers, ect it was a very nice store nonetheless.
I miss Payless. Probably 95% of my shoes came from there and they were actually great quality for the price and would last for years. It may seem odd, but one of the things I remember the most strongly when thinking about Payless was the _smell_ in every Payless store. And not in a bad way... it was just the smell of leather, rubber, etc, from all of the open boxes of new shoes. It's one of those visceral things for me.
I loved Payless. I grew up with it. I still have a pair of water hiking sandals from the 80's. They were $4 and are better the best and most comfortable I have owned. They would still do well!
They were a great option for more unisex shoes and larger sizes as well! The only place in the city my roommate could consistently find shoes her size (and usually cute!)
No back to school shopping trip, Christmas/Easter church shopping trip, or summer shopping trip was complete without a trip to Payless. This was where I shopped for shoes from the time I was born all the way up until it closed. This and Ames are the two stores I am the most devastated about losing.
I missed the days of all those stores I used to do school shopping at like Buster Brown, Tom McCann, Fayva, and now Payless. With all these places now defunct are we supposed to rely on Amazon to do all our shopping from now on?
Payless was the go to place for shoes through my entire childhood. I lived really close to a Shopko, and thus that was the store we ended up at a lot of the time, and they had a payless inside. I actually cried a little bit when Shopko went out of business, and alongside it our Payless- that store was a very big part of my childhood, and seeing it go hurt.
I remember when they announced their closure. My wife and I immediately went to the store in our local mall (which was still doing quite well at the time) and each bought our last pair of shoes there. I always loved the brand. It was the end of an era.
Louis and Ruthann Pozez were my grandparents neighbors, and they were very generous people that did a good amount for the Tucson community, especially the Jewish community. Ruthann was my first “sponsor” when I got into bike racing. She always did what she could to help others…except letting my grandmother win in bridge. Rest in peace, Ruth. You were an amazing person. (Also, their last name is pronounced Poe-zez) their home sold earlier this year I believe, which had the one of best views in Tucson due to their like 4 acre lot.
Payless wouldn’t survive in today’s market. Walmart and Target have captured the low end market and unlike Payless, Walmart and Target can sell their shoes at a loss because they know they’ll make it up in other parts of the store. This is the reason why other stores like Bed Bath and beyond, Toys R Us and Part City are going out of business. They focus on one sector which means they can’t be competitive on price and their products can be found anywhere else including online.
@@DeadAir21 I've never gone shoe shopping at Walmart or Target. These days I found the single pair of shoes I like at Ross one time. Now I will buy the same shoe in black and brown on Amazon as it's the only place I can find it.. Hi tech
We didn't know how good we had it. Hated it as a kid but miss it as an adult buying my own shoes haha airwalk shoes held up against Ohio winter for YEARS
Hi, I’m from the Philippines. And Payless here is actually very much still in business and elevating. Most days I still see people fitting on samples, and getting pairs. I think it’s the idea of the shoes being affordable and Filipino people love to avail inexpensive shoes that are great quality. Business really is just a trial and error.
I tried them first in Philippines. Garbage quality, extremely uncomfortable. But many in Philippines wear plastic shoes, so no-one cares about quality anyway.
Yeah! I was shocked at first because I passed by one branch a week ago in the PH. Used to frequent the store when I was just starting out in the workplace. Quality feels great for its price.
@ it’s because the US holding company went bankrupt, and foreign assets, including brand was sold to another investor. Apparently, either cannot be reestablished in the US, under the bankruptcy agreement, or was not viable in the US for the investors
I went to a Payless when I was in the Philippines with family last summer and it was such a fun but sad blast from the past. At least in the Philippines it’s thriving!
not only in the Philippines, it's also very popular in LatinoAmerica. (Mostly in Panama, since it's where I'm from and know) there's a payless in every mall here!
@@TimothiusRycard Mall culture failing in America is an issue of car dependence. It's a problem that a group of people are trying to fix, even though I feel it's in vain until oil becomes very hard to find or petroleum becomes too expensive for everyone to fill tanks with.
@@Code7UnltdI’m from the Philippines and it’s the opposite most people would drive to a mall than drive to a building with a store unless it’s near an office or something
no way, i remember this store! got one of my most beloved pair of shoes that i still own. my family and i were very sad to see this great store disappear.
I’m definitely not an expert on such things, but it always baffles me how leveraged buyouts are even kinda legal. It’s always the same story: private equity buys a brand, but they didn’t actually have the money to buy the brand, so they borrow it, and as soon as the purchase is complete, they transfer the responsibility of paying back said money to the brand they just bought
Oh man, I remember very well going to Payless Shoesource, my mother takes me there A LOT whenever I need new shoes at the beginning of elementary school and middle school. And yes, you’re absolutely right, they did do their business in shopping malls. There used to be one right next to the Sears store in Cerritos Mall before they both closed down which is still is today. Man, so many things that you remember will disappear in your lifetime
They can only afford to acquire what has already been plundered. The only shady thing about it is they pretend they will fix the company when it's actually pretty irrelevant to them making money off the deal.
It's so frustrating watching these companies get bought out and milked for all they can get. Greed is killing us. That all said, I am looking forward to seeing what you're bringing us next year! Your videos are always entertaining and informative.
People make fun of Payless but I miss it. I have very very very wide feet but I could always find shoes at Payless. Shoe shopping now is so stressful 😮
Every time I watch Bright Sun Film and Company Man, I always wait for the inevitable part where they say private equity firm during a bankrupt episode.
One thing you didn't mention: if you wear larger shoe sizes Payless was basically your only option for someplace that actually kept them in stock. Big box stores especially almost never have anything above a US 12.
Yeah 100%, there really wasn't anywhere else to fill in the gap that was left for larger sizes when they closed and really still isn't! I have to order almost all my shoes online and it sucks not even knowing if the shoes will be comfortable until I get them in the mail.
I do remember Shoe Station being the second choice in parts of Louisiana and Texas back when I was a kid for larger sizes. The factory stores in Tanger Outlet Malls were too much of a crapshoot to be reliable as I got older (except for a New Balance store). For the ladies, I'm not sure what really stepped in for Payless (maybe DSW?). Big and tall guys at least have DXL on the national chain level that actually sells some shoes with somewhat of a discount.
We have, in my opinion, reached a point where 90% of the stuff on RUclips is embarrassing garbage. Your material is superb and I just want to take a moment to publicly thank you for turning out excellent work.
You might need to work on your algorithm bc YT is a treasure trove of content. You jsut haven't found your niche or more likely, you don't have many interests
Bankrupt is gonna be having a field day with what's next to go bankrupt. Party City *AND* Big Lots are both going out of business. You got some videos to cook up! XD
This explains a lot. It's really too bad, because the Payless store in my town (a stand-alone in a busy shopping center) was always busy, but then it suddenly closed with no warning or explanation. It's gross how private equity firms are basically pyramid schemes, only benefitting the top positions.
Payless shoes was in my mall right next to the Disney store, they both closed down. I remember when Payless used to sell name brand shoes like FILA and Reebok shoes, and licensed TMNT shoes when I was a kid! But I felt the decline of Payless happened due to direct competition from Foot Locker, Ross, Nordstrom Rack, which those stores sold more brands and at good prices!
I feel Shoe Station and Shoe Carnival rises had a strong role as well, considering they're brick and mortar competitions, often times in the same shopping centers.
@ yeah, I think it’s more like the shoe stores were in the same mall or plaza, it barely had anything to do with big box stores like Walmart and Target.
I wouldn't say Foot Locker is a direct competitor to Payless because their products are not cheap and they always get premium floor space in big malls. You'll never find them at smaller outlets.
@@SoldierOfFate Yea, maybe not exactly Foot Locker per se, but Payless stopped having recognizable brands, and the rise of brand name shoe outlet/discount stores, definitely had a role. I see your point tho. Payless stores were often tucked away in malls, on an anchor store wing, rather than the center walkway/corridor.
@@SoldierOfFate Foot locker is more of a premium that sells specialty shoes you can’t find anywhere else, Payless didn’t have their niche and it’s why they were outcompeted by discount stores in prices.
This makes me sad. I loved PayLess! My daughter was born with a club foot and PayLess was the only store where I could find shoes for her that fit. AND, as a plus, they were so inexpensive that I usually bought two pair, one different size for each foot! I have fond memories of her trying on every shoe that was a possibility (it was a nightmare to find any that fit properly in most stores). We always left with at least one pair. Thanks, PayLess. 😊
@@Cacowninja Yes, she did. Thank you for asking. Unfortunately though it was during the time when surgery was 'the thing' to do. We were able to have it done with the Shriner's hospital for free and the surgeon did a decent job. These days they only put a brace between the feet. She is 30 years old now and gets along pretty well with her foot. Not too much pain like some people face as they get older.
My mom used to take us to Payless in the 80’s to buy shoes all of the time. For school and church. They were nice shoes that were reasonably priced. I was in my mall just a few years ago and needed new shoes so I thought I’d pop into the store. The shoes were not nice anymore and imho were overpriced. There was no more paying less at the Payless Shoe Store so I walked out.
Gotta look into big lots closing and also office depot! Went from sponsoring Nascar teams to closing down even after their restructure. Love this series so much it's what I listen to while I'm at work
the building where a Payless Shoe Source was by me in florida is now a dentist's office but a few parking spaces in front of it still say Payless Parking Only on them
@@0Ce0UIoPC I don't it was intentional on their part, probably just either too lazy or not rich enough for it to be worth it enough for them to remove them.
It's sad, for a poor kid growing up in the 90's this was just about the only place we could afford to buy shoes year after year, the shoes may have been cheap but they were far better quality wise than the crap you buy on Shein or Amazon these days, I weirdly miss this place, it was always there when you needed it and didn't have much money
It's so very very sad when this happens. Just the same here in the UK, so many companies gone because of Private Equity firms and presumably other countries as well. Private Equity firms need to be vetted and not allowed to borrow the money they need to buy the business.They are just a money making scam for the owners who grab what they can, shaft the workers and let it go to ruin.
I always remembered Payless being inside of my local ShopKo. I feel like ShopKo also deserves one of these videos someday, I’ve personally been hoping for one ever since they went out of business 5ish years ago. My hometown finally demolished their downtown location earlier this year, and the other one in town was converted into several smaller shops, restaurants, and a brewery within the existing structure.
This brings me back to the 90s. I got a few pairs from Payless as a kid. I remember buying a pair in college. It held up for awhile given it's hard to find shoes for me. We had a mix of stand alone and mall locations in Arkansas. I miss 90s mall culture. Even in 2011, we had a store in Boston. Private equity is the pits. They do nothing but harm.
When I was a kid, we did 99% of our fashion shopping at Burlington Coat Factory, Mervyns, and Payless. If we couldn’t find what we needed at these 3 stores, then you are SOL lol. I think the last time I went into a Payless had to be about 2017 and I was so disappointed. The customer service sucked. The store was not nicely organized. The prices were high , at least too high for a Payless in my opinion. Another childhood gem gone ❤
You are right. My local Payless Shoe Store had the worse customer service, the shoes boxes were disorganized, the shoes in the boxes were mismatched, the shoe boxes even had one shoe only and good look trying to find the other half. I also agree the prices were not cheap for the cheap quality of shoe you are paying for. About quality, I remember the soles coming off my shoes when there was a heat wave above 102F. When we tried to get a refund because the shoes were not even a day old, the employee told me since I wore them, they are not refundable even though I only wear the next day in the hot concrete for forty minutes.
Fuckin love ross, Burlington...clothes of course have minor flaws, sometimes barely any at all( i gibe clothes a full lookover) but seeing the original prices of these shirts amd stuff. Hell naw...$50 for a god damn t-shirt...tf😂....fact is I could have money and still be getting shit their 😂
@@MarioG.-yt1of - use superglue! Pretty common when it comes to cheap or discounted shoes. The glue holding the soles in place comes is weak. My sole came off on some new shoes after a short time. I used superglue. Now it's probably the toughest shoe I've ever owned. That sole is not combine off.
Doesn't Burlington have a shoe section, since they're not specifically coats anymore? Didn't they become something like a regional Ross discount store kind of deal after dropping the "Coat Factory" part of the store's name? I got a replacement to a crappy roller bag from a Burlington (it was a chessboard print hard roller bag) in 2012. About the previous bag (for context), whenever I had to roll it it behaved like it flapped in the wind like a bag shaped flag every time I tried to get it over a curb, or even just minding my own business on an ordinary sidewalk.
I got hired and worked Payless for their final year. What I found crazy is just months before they filed the bankruptcy they were telling employees that sales were doing so good they were looking into getting tablets for the associates to do checkouts in the aisles. The stores I worked at always had good business
I remember going to Payless all the time growing up, but then our local store went out of business in 2010 or so. I didn't realize they were still in business after that! The storefront where it used to be is now a sushi restaurant that slaps.
The best thing I learned from shopping at Payless was that if I didn't like the styles of the shoes in the women's department, I could find my equivalent size in the kids' department in styles and colors I liked better. I normally take a size 7 1/2 in women size shoes. I found that a 5 1/2 in a kid size fit me just as perfectly as the 7 1/2 women's. A sales person at a Payless clued me in on that. That knowledge gave me much more variety to choose from, and much cuter, more appealing shoe choices. I was sorry to see them go bankrupt. They were one of my favorite specialty stores.
I worked at Volume Shoe Source in Oregon while in college. Washington and Oregon already had a chain of discount stores called Payless. If I remember correctly, Payless Shoe Source couldn't use the name until the trademark ran out, which I think was in 1994. At that point, they transitioned from Volume to Payless.
Yep, I remember Volume Shoes in Portland and hoping my ProWings would hold together through the school year in the 1980s. A generation of kids who would never return to their stores after wear their terrible shoes burned a lot of bridges.
My mom used to buy me shoes from there. I kinda hate it (because name brands were all the range as an adolescent) as a kid but also came to like it as a kid too. I missed stores like Payless. I haven't really bought name brand shoes since I had a full time job.
I worked at Payless in the Pacific Northwest and they'd always send us our winter boots when it was raining and nobody wanted them, because they assumed everywhere had Kansas weather or something, so nobody bought them until they went on clearance. And they would never bring out the rain boots in the winter when people would actually buy them. When I heard they went bankrupt I said "that took longer than I thought it would"
I remember going to my local Payless ShoeSource with my Mom when I was very little and it was one of the earliest experiences of me wandering away from her and getting lost in any store. I also remember the day when me and my Mom (And I think my sister as well but I'm not 100% sure) tried going to Payless a while back, Only to found out the place had closed down and had been converted into a dry cleaners. Yep.
Even though now I mostly buy Nike shoes and other big brand shoes, Payless really helped me and my family get affordable shoes through my and my sibling's childhoods
I really miss Payless. It was the only place in town wear you could find a shoe past a 12 that wasn't white, black, or tan. Shopping online for shoes isn't even close to being the same experience.
My friends and I loved going to Payless when we were in high school in the 90's. I got a really cool pair of pvc platform sneakers with a stripe on the side. They were like $20. Coolest shoes ever!
Payless was a godsend for my family. They were the only place in town who offered large size shoes that we could just go in and try on. Even now all these “big box” stores only carry women’s 11/12 maybe and men’s is easier but still difficult to find I miss Payless so much and being able to buy shoes on the spot Women’s 13 and men’s 16
I was so embarrassed because that's where my mom bought me my shoes for school and I always wanted brand names, this was 90s and early 00s for me. Looking back...any shoes from there from those times and even into the 2010s, were way better quality than most of the shoes are now.
it’s absolutely frustrating how fast shoes these days wear down - i love my slip on vans because of their convenience but after a year of use there’s already a hole forming in the bottom.
After my family's divorce, they were the go-to place for shoes when you're now broke. They definitely could've been saved. Stop taking money from the company for starters. Then shut down at least a quarter of the least profitable stores to save money. And revamp the existing ones in phases. First, the stores in premium locations like New york, Miami ext. Then start working your down the rural stores.
I worked for Payless from 2015-2018. And I loved that job. But I can understand why they went under. I miss them so much though! Wish they could make a comeback.
I grew up going to Shopko a lot as a kid, and seeing the Payless section in the store was a very memorable experience for me. Would love to see a video on Shopko.
When I filed a lawsuit against as a manager and won due to abuses, it had a ripple effect as other managers followed suit. When you are under staffed and get blamed for the theft, it’s wrong. Broken labor laws and pushing managers to work upwards of 70 hours a week will cause some to bite back. Considering they paid, on average $1.50 to $2 for most shoes, they were making huge money.
The last time I walked into Payless, it was pretty empty. Compared to the 80s, it was always packed with people on Sunday evenings when I was growing up.
From where I'm from payless is still so popular, im pretty sure the store has been there since i was a child in the 2000's so i couldn't have guessed it was a different story
Payless shoe store was the only reason I ever got new shoes as a child. It was the only way my parents could afford them for 4 kids. They also carried wide widths in alost every size. That store was a godsend for anyone with flat feet.
One glaring error at 4:48 - you mention that Payless was acquired by May Company; but you show a picture of a store called Mays, the two were not related. The store in question was a NYC-based regional chain of department stores that was owned by J.W. Mays, which exited the business by the late 1980s, but still exists as a real estate holding company.
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Would you do make a next episode of Bankrupt featuring Company Man as a collab on the downfall of Party City please?
An episode on arctic cat would be sick. They almost went under a few time and they are in trouble again
Party City & Big Lots have declared bankruptcy & are closing down all their stores
The Payless location you show at the end of the video in that dead shopping center, I went to that one growing up. It's at the corner of Rainbow and Spring Mountain in Las Vegas. Sadly, the whole Plaza is abandoned. Used to have a Kmart as well. All that's left is the burger King on the corner in a standalone building. I miss going to Payless. It's hard to find good cheap shoes.
Really also had some fun times there also some other parts you can look into try Fedco stores used to be around there when I was a kid or Tower Records anyway have a look also hear about troubling times too with those Amazon and Starbucks strikes.
Rip Payless. Thank you for carrying me through my childhood with affordable shoes.
Same 😢❤
Rip 🪦 Payless. Great times
Even had large women's sizes 11-13W
My old neighborhood Payless is liquor store now
@@Not_Always that is not good in anyway
Man PayLess was a life saver for my mom, she was a widowed mom of 2 and adopted 2 of my cousins whom she raised like her children and she did not speak English. Going to Payless was our chance to "splurge" which meant we could get 2 pairs of whatever shoes we wanted, say what you will about Payless and their products, but it kept affordable shoes on the feet of millions of Americans, and for that I will always remember it fondly.
Aww my mom let me get two shoes, as well, from them. And she’d get several pairs as well. I used to love going to Payless
Same for us too.
My memory of Payless was painful because we were poor. I hated being poor and fought hard now i'm rich where I should be. Being poor is no fond memory
@@This_tub That's nice. But don't police the good memories people have. There is nothing wrong with looking back fondly at the good things that happened in an otherwise bad life. That gives us what we need to go forward and grow.
@@incognit01233 there's nothing nice about it. And don't police my opinion
Ahh, _Bankrupt._
I love going into these blind and guessing whether it's gonna be the 2008 recession or private equity that killed the company 😁
Greetings! And welcome to a private equity bankruptcy thing!
Or other culprits such as Walmart, online shopping, Amazon, corporate mergers, and Covid
Ah man. DSW shoe warehouse is about as close as Payless can be nowadays. Least that much.
Hey fancy seeing you here! 😊
Didn’t expect you here
Nice
"Say the line Jake!"
"Private equity firm..."
"YAAAAAAAY!!!"
Oh boy. You know I think these private equity firms were started just to make all these businesses go bankrupt. The controllers want to change the face of everything, along with its substance. Something has to be done about them.
I love Payless. It was affordable and that was the only shoes my parents could afford while I was in middle school and high school. Nowadays, shoes prices are getting ridiculous…
That's good to hear but my memories are completely different.
I lived in the US in 1992-1993 as a student, always broke, one internship, two side jobs... but even then Payless was the least desirable. Not only the quality was well below what one could find in an average European shop, Payless never had my size. They sold only "regular" (i.e. too narrow) fit. Meanwhile even low-end big-box stores like K-mart or Ames *sometimes* had the right fit for me at slashed prices.
From what I remember in the 2000s they did carry wides, so it wasn't just "regular" at that point. It was my go to after trying a few other places like Macy's (too expensive) and K-Mart (you can only pick 1: on discount, not butt ugly, or fits right).
Shoe prices are cheaper considering inflation. Those shoes we bought back then were junk, they fell apart in months no different than the cheap sub $30 pairs you can buy at Wal-Mart today. Cheap shoes make sense for a kid whose feet are growing, but otherwise are junk. When you get older you buy a good pair of shoes for $60+ that will last for years or longer. In the long run if you're buying junk shoes you'll find yourself spending more than if you just saved for a good pair.
All these comments are full of people claiming they loved Payless, yet they went out of business because no one was shopping there anymore lol. So how many shoes did you actually buy there as an adult??
Bright Sun Films has single handedly radicalized me against private equity firms
Pretty Woman did that for me.
Evil incarnate
I was radicalized against private equity since Toys R Us went under.
Private equity is the Devil. The group that got Payless was Satan himself. Sure, the employees got hosed, but the real losers were the entities that lend to them.
@@reedspace8267 Damn straight.
I mean who doesn’t remember walking up and down the aisles showing off your new shoes to your mom ❤
Looking at the angled mirror on each side of the "try on" seat.
Yes! It was the place my Mom took my siblings and I for back to school shoe shopping almost every year before the start of the new school year!
My favorite memory is their formaldehyde smell.
@@juanzingarello4005 ugh yes so addicting
@@patbrown463omg the angled mirror, I used to imagine the world was upside down
I noticed that the quailty and selection of shoes at Target and Walmart is way poorer once they got Pay Less out of the way.
We at payless actually tried to put quality in our shoes as opposed to Wal-Mart and K-mart
I wouldn’t be surprised if the lenders to the private equity firm were Walmart and Target tbh
Hell, our local Target has MAYBE a dozen or so shoe options in the store. I go there when I just need some $10-15 cheap canvas shoe for roaming the house or slipping on to hit up a drive thru for some 10pm munchies.
I'm not buying anything decent there.
@@MSROnline001 No one should be surprised at this point. You've got to be blinder than the blind to not see corporations like Walmart cornering the market this shamelessly.
That's kind of how it works with everything. Quality creates competition. Once the competition is gone, quality goes with it. Because where are you going to find cheap identical products going forward if there's no competition?
The death of brick and mortar stores and now physical media has been really jarring. It makes the world we live in now feel lifeless. No going to Blockbuster to prepare for movies night, no walking the halls of the mall on a Friday evening chatting with your friends, no radio shack or other stores for oddball electronics, etc.
"It makes the world we live in now feel lifeless"
More like it erases YOU, nothing physical left behind just an array of cheap trash and digital subscriptions
The one time in human history with an unparalleled and unlimited number of options to record and catalog every day life and instead everyone is being corralled into digital pens that leave no footprints.
Controlling history is easy when there's no markers to show who was there, what evidence do you have to say my revisionism is a lie?
Wait till robotic people become cashiers and workers . A machine already cleans Walmart's floors and self checkout. The future will be robot bakers and such taking over. That's the future it seems to be happening
@Ladybug83me there will always be a human element, pure automation is both bad for companies and bad for production.
It won't evolve much past what we have now, self checkouts and self scanning locations while actual people restock and answer questions and are there to do more in depth tasks
At some point we'll reach a point we no longer need to work to survive. Work will be more for socialization and working with others to pursue whatever creative endeavors we agree upon. After all machines will never be able to replace human connection. That said... that connection may be very different from the 1950s.
I get it but sometimes progress requires getting rid of things. It’s easier for some people who don’t have cars or who live in areas where cars are impractical to get the things they want and need. They turned grocery store near me into a large storage facility and it’s now a delivery/pickup location for the same grocery chain. I like being able to shop on my way home or without leaving home. It’s raining out and I don’t feel like going out, plus my car is broken down atm and otherwise I’d have to catch a bus and limit my grocery shopping while getting what I need within 30-45 min or wait another hour for the next bus. Or I can get everything I need delivered without leaving home. But I get what you mean. I remember planning movie nights and renting video games- I think that nostalgia will keep some of those things alive.
I'm only 22, but I remember Payless, GAP, Kmart, Toys 'R Us, Blockbuster, fye, RadioShack, Wet Seal, etc. It's really weird and sad to watch all of my childhood stores fade into irrelevance
you are 22. I am 52 and it doubles at my age. Nothing I remember is there anymore.
@@vaderladyl IKR? I'm 52 also and ironically, used to be an area manager for Payless. Was talking to a headhunter just the other day because after Payless went out I got tired of being told id no longer have a job and decided to not look for another and have been out of the workplace since. I was joking with them that I had concerns if I could even GET a job now based on my age, shelf life of being off of work for so long, and the fact that my resume would be very difficult to get references for.
WHY, you ask? Well simply, I also appear to be supremely bad luck to hire......... because almost everyplace I have ever worked is no longer in business hahaha. Sadly I was still ON several of those ships when they went down. Prior to being the area manager at Payless I was a district manager at Blockbuster, and before that general manager for Circuit City. Prior to that a manager for Goodwill, preceded by Aldi (which are the oddballs in the middle where I first got into management and somehow are both still in business). Everything prior to Aldi from my youth is also shut down. Among those are KB Toys, Montgomery Ward, Incredible Universe (owned by Tandy/Radio Shack) and Ponderosa Steakhouse, preceded by my first job at an unknown mom and pop ice cream store I worked at at age 14 (also out of business). The recruiter had a good laugh with me over that. I do have an interview coming soon. Wish me (and them LOL) good luck with that :)
46 here. Unreal just how many are not longer here...Montgomery Wards, Sears, Musicland, Bridgeman's, Ben Franklin hobby, Super Value, Dayton's, Egghead Software, Software Etc, Buca, Kmart...except in the usvi which was still there the last time I was there anyways...back in 2014
toys r us still exists in some capacity
I know. Sad thing is we need that variety now more then ever. Mainly because the internet is almost entirely untrustworthy and people want and need niche dedicated stores with cheap prices.
So often, when companies get so large, they suddenly fail. One interesting factor though is that in nearly all cases, a management company come in to try to save the business. They almost always fail. Why is that? Maybe an episode looking into some of these businesses would be of interest as seemingly, they come in to strip out any value and then shut up everything else.
A whole feature length documentary could be dedicated to that topic.
Pretty much the cycle of each/any bankrupt video.
The venture capitalist
I think you answered your own question. The companies that come in aren't trying to save the brand. They're there to make money.
And they're not interested in long term growth and slow in 5 or 10 years. They do whatever they can to make short term profits now, and that always means selling off whatever they can, or borrowing to buy other companies, because even if it cripples the company next year, they've made their money this year.
@@BlaytonCixby Increased competition
Another victim of private equity and the scourge of the leveraged buy out.
The failure of Payless is a real shame and a genuine loss to the American consumer. Their products were of decent quality at really solid prices. If it wasn't for the greed of short term gains over long term success by these venture capital firms, there's really no reason this brand shouldn't still exist today.
As you said. they needed a visual refresh of their stores. They also needed to dump all of their mall locations and focus on their standalones, especially the ones in high traffic strip malls and urban areas. There was a distinct difference in the foot traffic in their stores in high traffic locations versus dying malls and standalones without another consumer draw nearby.
They were a generally liked brand, and their absence has left a void in the market.
Great video as always!
Gotta remember, these businesses would have failed anyway...
Payless and Gamestop were the kings of the strip mall. Also thrived in downtowns with large working class and ethnic populations in the northeast. Walmart probably did not help for rural locations.
Their shoes went from 5 dollars a pair to 35 dollars a pair.
@@GrzegorzDurda If you want to pay $5 for brand new shoes just say you support child and slave labor at that point.
@@la6136 Either that or wear bags on your feet.
I used to work for Payless. I still have my employee name tag and plenty of employee discounted shoes in my closet. 😊
I remember them not having mainstream name brands like Nike or Addidas. Am I right?
@@dannydaw59I went under w the company in 2019. They had their own brands. American eagle was “American Eagle by Payless” and same with the Champion brand. I have a 190gal tote FULL of shoes I purchased while working there + two smaller totes. As a manager at the end of it all, I can say this really tugs on the heart strings because we built a small little family and to just throw us away without anything but a small bonus because I cleared out the store for them, is a big slap in the face and the fact they tried to reopen probably pissed each one of us off.
I got my wedding shoes, simple white satin ballet flats, at Payless, in 2005. Our store was a standalone unit, in front of a Winn-Dixie and a Frank's Nursery & Crafts, in the same shopping center as a Blockbuster video, a Ponderosa restaurant, a Shoney's restaurant, and the Pizza Hut where I first met my husband. Now, the Payless is a Hardee's restaurant, the Winn-Dixie a Walmart Neighborhood Store, and the Frank's is a collision center. I guess that's a car repair place. The Ponderosa and the Shoney's are gone of course, too, replaced respectively by a Chinese Buffet, and first a Golden Corral buffet, which is now a place called Umami Buffet (I have no clue lol). Likewise, the Blockbuster is now a small mattress store. But the Pizza Hut-though remodeled-is still going strong, lol! It's the only part of that shopping center, and my childhood/young adult memories of it, that hasn't changed. Kind of sad, really...
We used to get nearly all our shoes from Payless when I was a kid/teen, lotta very specific sensory memories associated with our local strip mall Payless outlet. When they went out of business, I was a college freshman and had just recently purchased a pair of comfy everyday zip-up boots, I'd been struggling for ages to find a set in that style, of good build quality, that had an actual decent tread/sole on them at any other outlet, but Payless had come through for me with the PERFECT pair thay checked all the boxes. So even though the boots were brand new, when the closure was announced I went and stood in line amongst the "everything must go" clearance sales to get an second identical pair at a MASSIVE discount to hold onto and eventually replace the first boots when they wore out, since I wouldn't be able to just go back to the store for another pair when they wore out a few years down the road. But the original boots were such good quality and durability that I still haven't taken the "backup" pair outta the box! They're in my closet waiting for their day to come, probably in the next year or so, one last pair of "new" shoes from Payless.
As soon as I heard the words “private equity firm” and “leverage buyout”, I knew what would come next as that’s always the kiss of death for businesses.
Great video BSF!!!
they put the retailer in a huge amount of debt - remember what happened with Toys R Us
Very true. Private equity is the kiss of death. Private equity is only after the short term gain.
...as soon as he said "Golden Gate Capital," I did a facepalm.
@@davinpthat was the death of the 99 cents only stores, too.
So..........Party City video soon? 😳
Yesssss
My SO was on the call this morning. Immediately thought of this channel 🙈.
Wait...what? 😢
Don't forget Big Lots considering what happened yesterday.
That was the other store in our shopping plaza. Toys R Us and A.C. Moore (I worked at the latter) closed and it’s pretty much a dead zone over there now.
Private equity firms. Every time.
Great video BSF. Thank you
Private Equity Firm is the free space on my Bankrupt Bingo card.
They're vultures, but the vultures don't kill you. If your company is ready to be bought by private equity, it's pretty much already gone.
When has a Private Equity firm EVER saved a business!?
It's the Leveraged Buyout of the 80s with a different name.
@@kain0067yeah, it’s the equivalent of taking old yeller out behind the barn.
If they were really making money they could get a loan from a real bank.
I'll always remember Payless with fondness since most of the shoes i used to get as a kid came from either Payless or K-Mart. Not only they were comfortable shoes but also affordable, here in Puerto Rico they were quite popular among familes with low income or middle class, the one i used to visit was cool since it had a second floor filled with a lot of shoes, from TomMcAnn to Sketchers, ect it was a very nice store nonetheless.
I miss Payless. Probably 95% of my shoes came from there and they were actually great quality for the price and would last for years. It may seem odd, but one of the things I remember the most strongly when thinking about Payless was the _smell_ in every Payless store. And not in a bad way... it was just the smell of leather, rubber, etc, from all of the open boxes of new shoes. It's one of those visceral things for me.
Ahhh, the smell was HEAVENLY!!
I actually miss this store. It carried wide widths and the clearance couldn't be beat. There certainly is a market still for low price shoes.
I loved Payless. I grew up with it. I still have a pair of water hiking sandals from the 80's. They were $4 and are better the best and most comfortable I have owned. They would still do well!
DSW is an option. That or a Skechers store for their ample wide sizes and BOGO deals.
They were a great option for more unisex shoes and larger sizes as well! The only place in the city my roommate could consistently find shoes her size (and usually cute!)
@@traceytrotter9934I still have shoes from the early nineties from Payless at age 10
DSW, Walmart, Target, Amazon
No back to school shopping trip, Christmas/Easter church shopping trip, or summer shopping trip was complete without a trip to Payless. This was where I shopped for shoes from the time I was born all the way up until it closed. This and Ames are the two stores I am the most devastated about losing.
Yes, lots of good memories of back to school shoe shopping there with my mom 🥲
Walmart and Amazon spoiled everything since 1998
Going down with this company will always be a a trauma for me.
I missed the days of all those stores I used to do school shopping at like Buster Brown, Tom McCann, Fayva, and now Payless. With all these places now defunct are we supposed to rely on Amazon to do all our shopping from now on?
I remember Ames. I also miss Hills
Once more with feeling: Private equity ruins everything.
Same type of people that destroyed Toys R Us.
@@MichaelOKeefe2009and many, many more!
Not always. It's a get-rich-quick scheme and all that implies
@MichaelOKeefe2009 that store would have failed regardless who owned it
@@samsonsoturian6013 Women can never have enough shoes. The show store I visited two months ago was hoping & had 3 lines going.
Payless was the go to place for shoes through my entire childhood. I lived really close to a Shopko, and thus that was the store we ended up at a lot of the time, and they had a payless inside. I actually cried a little bit when Shopko went out of business, and alongside it our Payless- that store was a very big part of my childhood, and seeing it go hurt.
I remember when they announced their closure. My wife and I immediately went to the store in our local mall (which was still doing quite well at the time) and each bought our last pair of shoes there. I always loved the brand. It was the end of an era.
Louis and Ruthann Pozez were my grandparents neighbors, and they were very generous people that did a good amount for the Tucson community, especially the Jewish community. Ruthann was my first “sponsor” when I got into bike racing. She always did what she could to help others…except letting my grandmother win in bridge. Rest in peace, Ruth. You were an amazing person. (Also, their last name is pronounced Poe-zez) their home sold earlier this year I believe, which had the one of best views in Tucson due to their like 4 acre lot.
We need Payless more than ever now.
Payless wouldn’t survive in today’s market. Walmart and Target have captured the low end market and unlike Payless, Walmart and Target can sell their shoes at a loss because they know they’ll make it up in other parts of the store.
This is the reason why other stores like Bed Bath and beyond, Toys R Us and Part City are going out of business. They focus on one sector which means they can’t be competitive on price and their products can be found anywhere else including online.
@@DeadAir21 I've never gone shoe shopping at Walmart or Target. These days I found the single pair of shoes I like at Ross one time. Now I will buy the same shoe in black and brown on Amazon as it's the only place I can find it.. Hi tech
why for they can sell crappy shoes that falls apart in 2 months
theres multiple payless in my city wtf
@@DeadAir21hello. mr smartass
there are like 5 payless in my city and theyre all doing fine
We didn't know how good we had it. Hated it as a kid but miss it as an adult buying my own shoes haha airwalk shoes held up against Ohio winter for YEARS
Hi, I’m from the Philippines.
And Payless here is actually very much still in business and elevating. Most days I still see people fitting on samples, and getting pairs. I think it’s the idea of the shoes being affordable and Filipino people love to avail inexpensive shoes that are great quality. Business really is just a trial and error.
Same in the Dominican Republic and other countries
I tried them first in Philippines. Garbage quality, extremely uncomfortable. But many in Philippines wear plastic shoes, so no-one cares about quality anyway.
Yeah! I was shocked at first because I passed by one branch a week ago in the PH. Used to frequent the store when I was just starting out in the workplace. Quality feels great for its price.
It is cuz some countries are stuck in the same environment as when the store was successful in the US way back in the day.
@ it’s because the US holding company went bankrupt, and foreign assets, including brand was sold to another investor. Apparently, either cannot be reestablished in the US, under the bankruptcy agreement, or was not viable in the US for the investors
I remember Payless, that's where my mom would get me shoes every year for school. It was always a end-of-summer-break tradition.
I went to a Payless when I was in the Philippines with family last summer and it was such a fun but sad blast from the past. At least in the Philippines it’s thriving!
not only in the Philippines, it's also very popular in LatinoAmerica. (Mostly in Panama, since it's where I'm from and know) there's a payless in every mall here!
In Indonesia too
Mall culture is still thriving in SEA
@@TimothiusRycard Mall culture failing in America is an issue of car dependence. It's a problem that a group of people are trying to fix, even though I feel it's in vain until oil becomes very hard to find or petroleum becomes too expensive for everyone to fill tanks with.
@@Code7UnltdI’m from the Philippines and it’s the opposite most people would drive to a mall than drive to a building with a store unless it’s near an office or something
Payless, oh how much I miss you.
no way, i remember this store! got one of my most beloved pair of shoes that i still own. my family and i were very sad to see this great store disappear.
I’m definitely not an expert on such things, but it always baffles me how leveraged buyouts are even kinda legal. It’s always the same story: private equity buys a brand, but they didn’t actually have the money to buy the brand, so they borrow it, and as soon as the purchase is complete, they transfer the responsibility of paying back said money to the brand they just bought
Right? How is that legal? It’s so predatory.
And if you take a loan out to buy an established restaurant, how is that any different?
Oh man, I remember very well going to Payless Shoesource, my mother takes me there A LOT whenever I need new shoes at the beginning of elementary school and middle school. And yes, you’re absolutely right, they did do their business in shopping malls. There used to be one right next to the Sears store in Cerritos Mall before they both closed down which is still is today. Man, so many things that you remember will disappear in your lifetime
Cerritos Mall❤❤❤
Private equity really is a cancer. Acquire, plunder, toss.
They can only afford to acquire what has already been plundered. The only shady thing about it is they pretend they will fix the company when it's actually pretty irrelevant to them making money off the deal.
It's so frustrating watching these companies get bought out and milked for all they can get. Greed is killing us.
That all said, I am looking forward to seeing what you're bringing us next year! Your videos are always entertaining and informative.
I have so many memories of getting new shoes for school every year growing up. Even getting my Airwalk skater shoes in high school.
Those shoes were cool. I remember getting Andy MacDonald shoes there before Airwalk. I loved else.
People make fun of Payless but I miss it. I have very very very wide feet but I could always find shoes at Payless. Shoe shopping now is so stressful 😮
I miss Payless, my mom and I always bought shoes there and we always found great deals.
I remember in middle school when converse were too expensive and I could go to Payless and get airwalks ☹️ good times
I forget the name of their Adidas ripoff but I remember they had 4 stripes on the side instead of 3 lol
100%
Idk i loved my Airwalks, I always through they were cool
I even bought Champion at one point, when it wasn't as known.
Check out how expensive Airwalks are now, crazy I was made fun of these knockoffs and now they're just as expensive.
Every time I watch Bright Sun Film and Company Man, I always wait for the inevitable part where they say private equity firm during a bankrupt episode.
One thing you didn't mention: if you wear larger shoe sizes Payless was basically your only option for someplace that actually kept them in stock. Big box stores especially almost never have anything above a US 12.
Lived south of the border and Costco had 'em over 12 shoes.
In my country, I had shoes my size.
@LathropLdST there's no Costco anywhere near me but good to know.
Yeah 100%, there really wasn't anywhere else to fill in the gap that was left for larger sizes when they closed and really still isn't! I have to order almost all my shoes online and it sucks not even knowing if the shoes will be comfortable until I get them in the mail.
I do remember Shoe Station being the second choice in parts of Louisiana and Texas back when I was a kid for larger sizes. The factory stores in Tanger Outlet Malls were too much of a crapshoot to be reliable as I got older (except for a New Balance store).
For the ladies, I'm not sure what really stepped in for Payless (maybe DSW?). Big and tall guys at least have DXL on the national chain level that actually sells some shoes with somewhat of a discount.
Walmart has a couple styles in 14. They're pretty bad shoes but they exist.
As a woman with a large shoe size, I LOVED Payless. It’s so hard to find affordable large size shoes these days.
Where do you go besides Amazon? :(
@ Asos, Forever 21, Torrid, Shoe Show all carry up to size 13
What size did they cap out on.
We have, in my opinion, reached a point where 90% of the stuff on RUclips is embarrassing garbage. Your material is superb and I just want to take a moment to publicly thank you for turning out excellent work.
You might need to work on your algorithm bc YT is a treasure trove of content. You jsut haven't found your niche or more likely, you don't have many interests
Lol yeah Stop watching click bait rubbish 😂😂
Curate your content so that all the clickbaity ai generated thumbnail vids don't get recommended to ya
@@Dr.ZoidbergPhDexactly
Sounds like a bot comment lol
Bankrupt is gonna be having a field day with what's next to go bankrupt. Party City *AND* Big Lots are both going out of business. You got some videos to cook up! XD
I was just about to say, a Bankrupt episode on today of all days
Don’t forget about Conns furniture
Wendy's closed down too.
@@ReginasRetroReviewsno ?
@@ReginasRetroReviews No
The rant at the ending is reasonable, and I’ll just say
Punish the Evil(Those Investment Companies)
This explains a lot. It's really too bad, because the Payless store in my town (a stand-alone in a busy shopping center) was always busy, but then it suddenly closed with no warning or explanation. It's gross how private equity firms are basically pyramid schemes, only benefitting the top positions.
Payless shoes was in my mall right next to the Disney store, they both closed down. I remember when Payless used to sell name brand shoes like FILA and Reebok shoes, and licensed TMNT shoes when I was a kid! But I felt the decline of Payless happened due to direct competition from Foot Locker, Ross, Nordstrom Rack, which those stores sold more brands and at good prices!
I feel Shoe Station and Shoe Carnival rises had a strong role as well, considering they're brick and mortar competitions, often times in the same shopping centers.
@ yeah, I think it’s more like the shoe stores were in the same mall or plaza, it barely had anything to do with big box stores like Walmart and Target.
I wouldn't say Foot Locker is a direct competitor to Payless because their products are not cheap and they always get premium floor space in big malls. You'll never find them at smaller outlets.
@@SoldierOfFate Yea, maybe not exactly Foot Locker per se, but Payless stopped having recognizable brands, and the rise of brand name shoe outlet/discount stores, definitely had a role.
I see your point tho. Payless stores were often tucked away in malls, on an anchor store wing, rather than the center walkway/corridor.
@@SoldierOfFate Foot locker is more of a premium that sells specialty shoes you can’t find anywhere else, Payless didn’t have their niche and it’s why they were outcompeted by discount stores in prices.
This makes me sad. I loved PayLess! My daughter was born with a club foot and PayLess was the only store where I could find shoes for her that fit. AND, as a plus, they were so inexpensive that I usually bought two pair, one different size for each foot! I have fond memories of her trying on every shoe that was a possibility (it was a nightmare to find any that fit properly in most stores). We always left with at least one pair. Thanks, PayLess. 😊
If it's okay to answer did your daughter ever get her club foot fixed?
@@Cacowninja Yes, she did. Thank you for asking. Unfortunately though it was during the time when surgery was 'the thing' to do. We were able to have it done with the Shriner's hospital for free and the surgeon did a decent job. These days they only put a brace between the feet. She is 30 years old now and gets along pretty well with her foot. Not too much pain like some people face as they get older.
You sound like an awesome Mom (like mine!) ❤️
@@TheComp_Troller Aww, thanks. Those words bring a smile to my lips and warm feeling to my heart. 😊
I would have never thought Payless was bankrupt, I was there the other day getting some shoes. Greetings from the Dominican Republic!
seems to me mostly in the US. It is still doing well in other countries.
My mom used to take us to Payless in the 80’s to buy shoes all of the time. For school and church. They were nice shoes that were reasonably priced. I was in my mall just a few years ago and needed new shoes so I thought I’d pop into the store. The shoes were not nice anymore and imho were overpriced. There was no more paying less at the Payless Shoe Store so I walked out.
My favorite pair of shoes I’ve ever had in my life came from Payless , white shoes that light up when you walked 🥹
Gotta look into big lots closing and also office depot! Went from sponsoring Nascar teams to closing down even after their restructure. Love this series so much it's what I listen to while I'm at work
the building where a Payless Shoe Source was by me in florida is now a dentist's office but a few parking spaces in front of it still say Payless Parking Only on them
i respect the cultural preservation
Same! The Payless I used to be an ASM at in NY is a dentist office now too
You should be able to pay...a reduced amount at that dentist.
@@0Ce0UIoPC I don't it was intentional on their part, probably just either too lazy or not rich enough for it to be worth it enough for them to remove them.
It's sad, for a poor kid growing up in the 90's this was just about the only place we could afford to buy shoes year after year, the shoes may have been cheap but they were far better quality wise than the crap you buy on Shein or Amazon these days, I weirdly miss this place, it was always there when you needed it and didn't have much money
It's so very very sad when this happens. Just the same here in the UK, so many companies gone because of Private Equity firms and presumably other countries as well. Private Equity firms need to be vetted and not allowed to borrow the money they need to buy the business.They are just a money making scam for the owners who grab what they can, shaft the workers and let it go to ruin.
I always remembered Payless being inside of my local ShopKo. I feel like ShopKo also deserves one of these videos someday, I’ve personally been hoping for one ever since they went out of business 5ish years ago. My hometown finally demolished their downtown location earlier this year, and the other one in town was converted into several smaller shops, restaurants, and a brewery within the existing structure.
This brings me back to the 90s. I got a few pairs from Payless as a kid. I remember buying a pair in college. It held up for awhile given it's hard to find shoes for me. We had a mix of stand alone and mall locations in Arkansas. I miss 90s mall culture. Even in 2011, we had a store in Boston. Private equity is the pits. They do nothing but harm.
When I was a kid, we did 99% of our fashion shopping at Burlington Coat Factory, Mervyns, and Payless. If we couldn’t find what we needed at these 3 stores, then you are SOL lol. I think the last time I went into a Payless had to be about 2017 and I was so disappointed. The customer service sucked. The store was not nicely organized. The prices were high , at least too high for a Payless in my opinion. Another childhood gem gone ❤
You are right. My local Payless Shoe Store had the worse customer service, the shoes boxes were disorganized, the shoes in the boxes were mismatched, the shoe boxes even had one shoe only and good look trying to find the other half. I also agree the prices were not cheap for the cheap quality of shoe you are paying for. About quality, I remember the soles coming off my shoes when there was a heat wave above 102F. When we tried to get a refund because the shoes were not even a day old, the employee told me since I wore them, they are not refundable even though I only wear the next day in the hot concrete for forty minutes.
Kmart was a good one... Radio Shack was a good memory as well
Fuckin love ross, Burlington...clothes of course have minor flaws, sometimes barely any at all( i gibe clothes a full lookover) but seeing the original prices of these shirts amd stuff. Hell naw...$50 for a god damn t-shirt...tf😂....fact is I could have money and still be getting shit their 😂
@@MarioG.-yt1of - use superglue! Pretty common when it comes to cheap or discounted shoes. The glue holding the soles in place comes is weak.
My sole came off on some new shoes after a short time. I used superglue. Now it's probably the toughest shoe I've ever owned. That sole is not combine off.
Doesn't Burlington have a shoe section, since they're not specifically coats anymore?
Didn't they become something like a regional Ross discount store kind of deal after dropping the "Coat Factory" part of the store's name?
I got a replacement to a crappy roller bag from a Burlington (it was a chessboard print hard roller bag) in 2012. About the previous bag (for context), whenever I had to roll it it behaved like it flapped in the wind like a bag shaped flag every time I tried to get it over a curb, or even just minding my own business on an ordinary sidewalk.
I used to work at Payless. I had great cow workers and the atmosphere was always friendly and laid back.
Me too!
Damn, didn’t know they hired animals, one heck of a diverse workplace.
Moooo!
Ha ha OMG I didn’t notice the typo. I’ll keep it 😂😬
I don’t know about you but this video really tugged on my heart strings. Going under in 2019 was a trama for me.
Can't wait for the PartyCity and Big Lots episodes!
I got hired and worked Payless for their final year. What I found crazy is just months before they filed the bankruptcy they were telling employees that sales were doing so good they were looking into getting tablets for the associates to do checkouts in the aisles. The stores I worked at always had good business
I remember going to Payless all the time growing up, but then our local store went out of business in 2010 or so. I didn't realize they were still in business after that! The storefront where it used to be is now a sushi restaurant that slaps.
The best thing I learned from shopping at Payless was that if I didn't like the styles of the shoes in the women's department, I could find my equivalent size in the kids' department in styles and colors I liked better. I normally take a size 7 1/2 in women size shoes. I found that a 5 1/2 in a kid size fit me just as perfectly as the 7 1/2 women's. A sales person at a Payless clued me in on that. That knowledge gave me much more variety to choose from, and much cuter, more appealing shoe choices.
I was sorry to see them go bankrupt. They were one of my favorite specialty stores.
I have a dozen pairs of kids size 5.5 😅 I miss that job
I did that same thing! Found really cute shoes that fit me that were technically kids shoes but no one ever knew
I worked at Volume Shoe Source in Oregon while in college. Washington and Oregon already had a chain of discount stores called Payless. If I remember correctly, Payless Shoe Source couldn't use the name until the trademark ran out, which I think was in 1994. At that point, they transitioned from Volume to Payless.
Yep, I remember Volume Shoes in Portland and hoping my ProWings would hold together through the school year in the 1980s. A generation of kids who would never return to their stores after wear their terrible shoes burned a lot of bridges.
My mom used to buy me shoes from there. I kinda hate it (because name brands were all the range as an adolescent) as a kid but also came to like it as a kid too. I missed stores like Payless. I haven't really bought name brand shoes since I had a full time job.
I worked at Payless in the Pacific Northwest and they'd always send us our winter boots when it was raining and nobody wanted them, because they assumed everywhere had Kansas weather or something, so nobody bought them until they went on clearance. And they would never bring out the rain boots in the winter when people would actually buy them. When I heard they went bankrupt I said "that took longer than I thought it would"
I remember going to my local Payless ShoeSource with my Mom when I was very little and it was one of the earliest experiences of me wandering away from her and getting lost in any store. I also remember the day when me and my Mom (And I think my sister as well but I'm not 100% sure) tried going to Payless a while back, Only to found out the place had closed down and had been converted into a dry cleaners. Yep.
I got my Airwalks here before I could afford globes or vans and all my non slip work shoes before Amazon here. Miss you xoxox
Even though now I mostly buy Nike shoes and other big brand shoes, Payless really helped me and my family get affordable shoes through my and my sibling's childhoods
I really miss Payless. It was the only place in town wear you could find a shoe past a 12 that wasn't white, black, or tan. Shopping online for shoes isn't even close to being the same experience.
My friends and I loved going to Payless when we were in high school in the 90's. I got a really cool pair of pvc platform sneakers with a stripe on the side. They were like $20. Coolest shoes ever!
Payless was a godsend for my family. They were the only place in town who offered large size shoes that we could just go in and try on. Even now all these “big box” stores only carry women’s 11/12 maybe and men’s is easier but still difficult to find
I miss Payless so much and being able to buy shoes on the spot
Women’s 13 and men’s 16
I do miss this store
I remember this placeeeeeee🥹
There was a Payless at Cary towne center mall in the early 2000s and until 2016.
I was so embarrassed because that's where my mom bought me my shoes for school and I always wanted brand names, this was 90s and early 00s for me.
Looking back...any shoes from there from those times and even into the 2010s, were way better quality than most of the shoes are now.
I was born in 1952. In late 50's you could get two pair for shoes for 6 dollars. :)
it’s absolutely frustrating how fast shoes these days wear down - i love my slip on vans because of their convenience but after a year of use there’s already a hole forming in the bottom.
After my family's divorce, they were the go-to place for shoes when you're now broke.
They definitely could've been saved. Stop taking money from the company for starters. Then shut down at least a quarter of the least profitable stores to save money.
And revamp the existing ones in phases.
First, the stores in premium locations like New york, Miami ext.
Then start working your down the rural stores.
Payless saved my family. Now that I have kids I wish there was a place like Payless around
There was a Payless a a block away from my apartment downtown. I got all my work boots and sandals there. They had really great customer service
Payless is alive and well in other parts of the world. I saw a Payless doing well in Bangkok.
I miss Payless stores in the US
18:31 this is now a Hank & Ellie store, just a few miles from me, what a time capsule to see a commercial and visit the same place.
ngl, this whole comany and it's bankruptcy was so under the radar for me
I worked for Payless from 2015-2018. And I loved that job. But I can understand why they went under. I miss them so much though! Wish they could make a comeback.
I grew up going to Shopko a lot as a kid, and seeing the Payless section in the store was a very memorable experience for me. Would love to see a video on Shopko.
Did anyone else at least once think the name was Payless Shoe Store?
Mandela effect for me too 🤣
@@ssj99gohanisthebest48it’s always been Payless shoesource
You mean, that’s not the name…?
I thought that till just now 😂
Yes
Payless shoes was often the butt of many a jokes during elementary school.
That sucked. But hell, we were poor.
I was made fun of in the mid nineties for my parents shopping at Payless shoe source back in Pittsburgh
@@PraveenSrJ01 "Yo mama so poor that she shops at payless" was often the start of our jokes.
@ exactly
It just made sense to get cheap shoes because they will quickly be outgrown
Payless ShoeSource here in the Philippines is still going strong.
Whenever I see something in the news about a brand getting bought by private equity, I just start the countdown clock
When I filed a lawsuit against as a manager and won due to abuses, it had a ripple effect as other managers followed suit. When you are under staffed and get blamed for the theft, it’s wrong. Broken labor laws and pushing managers to work upwards of 70 hours a week will cause some to bite back. Considering they paid, on average $1.50 to $2 for most shoes, they were making huge money.
The last time I walked into Payless, it was pretty empty. Compared to the 80s, it was always packed with people on Sunday evenings when I was growing up.
Bankrupt - Party City
How about BigLots too?
Jake, you’re a legend. Happy holidays.
Happy holidays to you!
From where I'm from payless is still so popular, im pretty sure the store has been there since i was a child in the 2000's so i couldn't have guessed it was a different story
Payless shoe store was the only reason I ever got new shoes as a child. It was the only way my parents could afford them for 4 kids. They also carried wide widths in alost every size. That store was a godsend for anyone with flat feet.
Payless became Paymore !! It Got Expensive To Shop There !!
Thank you. I was looking for this comment. They got expensive
@ADR-xn6dg Even At The End When They Were Closing The Last Minute "Sales" Were Expensive
video starts at 1:24
One glaring error at 4:48 - you mention that Payless was acquired by May Company; but you show a picture of a store called Mays, the two were not related. The store in question was a NYC-based regional chain of department stores that was owned by J.W. Mays, which exited the business by the late 1980s, but still exists as a real estate holding company.
Came to say the same thing! A knit-picky thing from me, but Jake also refers to it as "Mays", but it was always referred to as May or May Company.
I remember my mom taking me to these shops as a kid of the 80's.
I went there as a uni student in the late 90''s.
This episode is going to hit home close. Mom use to work at the corporate office. Payless was most of my childhood.