Payless Shoes, one of Australia’s largest independent shoe retailers, has been placed into voluntary administration.
Ferrier Hodgson partners Jim Sarantinos, James Stewart and Peter Gothard have been appointed voluntary administrators by the company’s board of directors.
Administrator Jim Sarantinos said it was too early to identify the primary causes of the company’s current financial position.
He said it would be business as usual while the Administrators consider the restructuring and realisation opportunities for Payless Shoes.
“Payless Shoes is one of the best known independent shoe retailers operating 131 stores and an on-line business”, Sarantinos said.
“We are immediately calling for expressions of interest for a sale of the business as a going concern.”
Sarantinos said that employees will continue to be paid by the administrators and that it is expected that employee entitlements will be fully covered from the assets of the company.
Payless Shoes has 870 employees and annual sales of approximately $75 million.
Payless Shoes began in 1980 and grew its store network over the next three decades.
In 2013, after going into administration, the business (around150 stores) was sold to Payless ShoeSource in the USA.