Payless will keep Treasure Valley stores open, while closing 400 stores nationwide

Payless ShoeSource said Tuesday that it will immediately close almost 400 stores. But none of them are in Idaho.

The Kansas-based shoe chain has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and is closing the stores as part of a reorganization.

The chain currently has stores at:

▪  350 N. Milwaukee St. (Boise Towne Square mall), Boise

▪  411 N. Milwaukee St., Boise

▪  108 E. Fairview Ave., Meridian

▪  5216 E. Cleveland Blvd., Caldwell

Payless has more than 4,400 stores in more than 30 countries, according to the Associated Press.

“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, according to the AP.

Payless is the latest brick-and-mortar retailer to embark on a mass store closure. J.C. Penney, Wet Seal, Macy’s, Radio Shack, Hastings and Aeropostale are among the major retailers who have decided to shutter stores during the past year, largely due to competition from online retailers like Amazon.com.

However, Boise locations for some of the chains have been kept off the chopping block, so far.

This story was originally published April 5, 2017 at 1:10 PM with the headline "Payless will keep Treasure Valley stores open, while closing 400 stores nationwide."