Payless Shoe Store to Close at Berkshire Mall
 |
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — The Payless ShoeSource at the Berkshire Mall is slated for closure, the latest hit to the struggling shopping center.
Payless joins a number of national brands closing brick-and-mortar storefronts in the face of declining sales and the rise of online shopping. Two weeks ago, J.C. Penney, a founding anchor at the 30-year-old Berkshire Mall, announced its store there would be one of 140 nationwide slated for closure.
Best Buy and Macy's left within the last 18 months and Sears, also a founding anchor, this quarter said, "substantial doubt exists related to the company's ability to continue as a going concern."
Payless filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Tuesday and released on Wednesday a list of 400 "underperforming" store that would close. The 60-year-old company operates some 4,400 stores.
Also closing is the RadioShacks on Main Street in North Adams and in Pittsfield. The company is shedding more than a third of its 1,600 stores after a second bankruptcy filing in March.
The North Adams store was not on the list of closures but two days later a banner was hung across the south entrance announcing the liquidation sale. A clerk said employees had been notified when they came in that the store would close.
Tags: Berkshire Mall, store closings,
