Payless ShoeSource Emerges From Chapter 11, CEO To Retire

Payless ShoeSource announced Thursday that it has emerged from Chapter 11 restructuring. It filed for bankruptcy in April of this year. Following the restructuring, the company said Chief Executive Paul Jones will retire. The post-bankruptcy board of directors will conduct the search for a successor. Payless will be led by a newly-appointed executive committee that includes Chief Financial Officer Michael Schwindle, Chief Operating Officer Mike Vitelli and led by Chairman and interim CEO Martin Wade. Payless comes out of bankruptcy with 3,500 stores. The company eliminated $435 million in funded debt. The SPDR S&P Retail ETF is down 2.3% today, and down nearly 10% for the year so far. The S&P 500 index is up 9.6% for 2017 to date.