Although in the U.S. the chain has closed more than 2,000 stores in recent years, representatives of the company dedicated to the marketing of footwear plan to expand its market in Central America.

According to representatives of the chain of stores, during 2018 in Guatemala opened two stores in the capital, one in Quetzaltenango, another in Cobán and one more point of sale in Chiquimulilla.

You may be interested in “Figures for the sports footwear market”

Javier Castillo, Director of International Operations of Payless for Central America, explained to Prensalibre.com that “… In Latin America by far, most people prefer to go to stores and we are in the process of continuing the expansion because we have great results in physical stores open to the public. The analysis we do is based on results and the costs of maintaining a certain type of operation in the business.”

Castillo added that “… In the Guatemalan market it has worked extremely well, we are the largest shoe company, we are focused on several things, the main thing is the quality of products, promotions that are attractive to people. When we entered the Guatemalan market people used to buy 4 or 5 pairs of shoes a year, but today we have studies that show that women buy up to 12 or 15 pairs of shoes a year.”

Also see “Footwear: Increase in Purchases from Vietnam and Mexico”

Regarding the plans for the region, explains Listindiario.com that at Latin American level the company “… opened 19 stores in eight countries in 2018 and plans to open new stores this year in countries where it already has a presence. In addition, during 2018, Payless launched e-commerce in Costa Rica and Colombia and is exploring additional markets to include in this platform.”

See Prensalibre.com note “What will happen to Payless shoe stores in Guatemala? The company responds about its plans” and Listindiario.com note “Payless announces will continue in Latin America and the Caribbean“.