Bad news is that Payless shoes
wants to close 1,000 of its stores and worse, bankruptcy could be an option
for the chain if lenders don’t allow it to close those stores.
Payless is one of my favorite shoe
stores. Their footwear is reasonably priced and they have a good
selection of shoes in my size in both girl and boy mode.
Payless BOGO (buy
one, get one at half price) sales are
my favorite. Sometimes I buy one pair of women's shoes and one pair of
men's, but usually I buy two pairs of high heel pumps!
If Payless goes under, they will be
sorely missed by me and many other transgirls with full-figured feet. I
still miss Fashion Bug and I would hate to add another favorite retailer to my
gone, but not forgotten list.
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| Wearing Boston Proper. |
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| Mateusz Banasiuk Femulates Lady Gaga on the Polish version of television's Your Face Sounds Familiar. |
Really bad news.
ReplyDeleteMy observation is that a love for cheap shoes and special offers means that your favourite shop almost has to give away the merchandise that you love so much! Next time you are in there how about paying a bit more for a pair of shoes and even declining the BOGO offer and paying full price for both pairs? In that way your favourite shoe shop might stand a chance of making a profit, pay the staff a bit more and perhaps stay in business.
ReplyDeleteIn life there is always a price to pay - especially when we get something for nothing.
Regards, Catherine.
Hi Catherine,
DeleteMy last job before retirement was with a major women's clothing / accessories retailer (physical stores, catalogs, and internet). Like retailers in many product lines, their pricing strategies (full retail price first, discounted price sales later, BOGO later, etc.) were designed to maximize sales and profits. A new item would be sold at full retail at first. When its sales numbers started diminishing to a certain level, the first discounted markdown would kick in. The company still made a profit at this level, and the new marked-down price increased the volume of sales on that item. Increasingly large markdown percentages and at some point a BOGO sale followed. This system maximized the companies profits. Even at the lowest markdown (60% to 80% OFF or BOGO), the items are still sold at a higher price than their cost to the company.
I applaud your view to helping the company to give their associates (as employees at almost all retailers are called) higher wages. But, in reality, the industry wide system of "full price first" followed by one or more sales or markdowns actually maximizes profits due to the eventual drop-off of full price sales volume, followed by one or more cycles of increased sales volume due to the lowering prices. I do admire your empathetic and kind views for the associates, but retail companies plan all their sales in advance to maximize their profits.
Having said all the above, TAKING just one item that's on a BOGO sale would save the "untaken" second items to be sold. So, if that makes you feel better, certainly it would be very kind of you to do that ... however, prepare for possible "eye rolling" by some cashiers when you decline a second free item.
My guess is that "Anonymous"'s comment below about amazon.com may be the real threat to companies like Payless (even though they have their own sales website).
Love,
Sheila.
Thanks Shiela for the explanation which makes complete sense.
DeleteHowever it doesn't seem to be working as well as you have outlined otherwise Payless wouldn't be looking at bankruptcy. Admittedly my suggestion would only work if taken up in a big way - but if anyone feels so strongly about something in life they should stand by their principles and do something. You never know it might get taken up and before you know where you are you have a popular movement that might change everything.
regards, Catherine.
they have been a mainstay for me for years because they carried 12 and 13. If they go most stores just give me that look and tell me "sorry we only go up to 11" to which I roll my eyes and walk away. If they go I don't want to spend a fortune online at some retailer wanting to bleed me dry...
ReplyDeleteYou can thank Amazon.com!
ReplyDeleteI have between 15-20 pair of Payless shoes. I have their Karmen pump in almost every color. I like the fit and the price. Most of my purchases have come in pairs or more and their BOGO is hard to pass up.
ReplyDeleteUnlike my men's shoes which wear out from daily use and need regular replacement, my women shoes do not get out and about all that often so they seem to last forever.
Pat
This bad news.... need to shopping for shoes
ReplyDeleteFor future reference, check out grabyourwallet.org . Payless isn't on their radar though.
ReplyDeleteMy latest pair came from Payless...
ReplyDeleteDefinitely a loss, if it actually happens. Buy now, while you can!
ReplyDeleteI did... the black and white heels pictured in my post!
DeleteGood choice - very unique! I won't be back at a Payless till March, but if they have anything which fits, I'll probably buy - and worry about hiding them later.
Delete