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Payless Shoes, Which Has About 15 Stores in Queens, Shutting Down All U.S. Locations

Payless Shoes on 71st Avenue in Forest Hills (Google)

Feb. 16, 2019 By Christian Murray

Payless Shoes, which has about 15 stores in Queens, is closing all its United States locations.

The company, known for its inexpensive footwear, announced Saturday that it would be liquidating all 2,100 of its American stores and winding down its online business.

Payless Shoes has an enormous presence in Queens, with stores in Astoria, Jackson Heights, Corona, Rego Park, Forest Hills, Jamaica and Ridgewood among its many locations.

The company told the New York Times that liquidation sales would start tomorrow, Feb. 17, and that many stores would be closed by the end of March, although some will remain open until May.

The Topeka, Kan.-based company joins a long list of retailers that have gone bust in recent times and in doing so changed the shopping districts in Queens.

Toys “R” Us, Radio Shack, Sports Authority, Aerosoles, Gymboree, National Wholesale Liquidators and Charlotte Russe are among the many retailers to have perished.

Petland Discounts announced in January that it was liquidating its stores, two weeks after the founder died.

Payless Shoes Locations in Central and Western Queens–plus Greenpoint

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JHeights my whole life

Sad to see Payless shoes disappear. This store was a friend of the hard working family. My friend Curtis whi has 4 kids told me Payless was the only place in NYC where he could get shoes for all of his children and spend less than 100$. As the son of a man who worked at the Toys R US on Northeen and 48th st for 25 years I know that once those retail jobs go away they never come back.

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