Payless Shoe Store to rebuild in Joplin

(News release from Payless Shoe Store)

In the wake of the devastation and overwhelming cleanup effort from the May 22 tornado that hit the Joplin community here, Payless ShoeSource announced today its intention to directly help the city rebuild by reconstructing its Payless store at 1502 S. Range Line Road -- completely destroyed by the tornado -- with a new 3,100-square-foot store at the same location.

"The people of Joplin have been through a great loss and they need the support of many to build-back all that was lost," said LuAnn Via, CEO and President of Payless. "They are now energized by their future and focused on rebuilding a community even better than before. And we'll be there with them. Payless has been a member of Joplin for 18 years with two store locations, and we intend to remain a key member of the community. We are pleased to open this new store, which is a focal location for us in Joplin and frequented by many shoppers."

The new store will be roughly the same size as the previous store and is expected to open later this year. It will feature the retailer's new "Hot Zone" store format, a bright, fun and inspiring shopping environment that features an opened up front-of-store space with unique self-select shoppable store fixtures that display the latest trends, brands and product stories. The back of the store provides the traditional self-select rack-by-size system for women's, men's and children's shoes that shoppers know and love.

"This is great news for our community," said Joplin Mayor Mike Woolston. "As a long-standing retailer in Joplin, Payless has been committed to serving our citizens -- their customers -- and this is a great example of their dedication to Joplin. We look forward to their store opening in the near future."

Immediately following the tornado, Payless also supported the local Joplin community to help meet a basic need -- shoes -- and delivered 6,000 pairs of shoes to those in need. Payless also made a financial donation through the company's Foundation to the American Red Cross to aid in the cleanup efforts. As well, during this transition, all affected Payless store associates remain working at neighboring Payless stores.