Payless ShoeSource has just announced its filing for bankruptcy and the closing of all their retail locations in North America, this potentially poses a great opportunity for other players in the retail space as well as awesome shopping deals for consumers, including ladies with extended sizes. A few months ago, I covered Payless’ latest marketing stunt with the false brand Palessi and social influencers in my post Payless/ Palessi: Does It Matter to Today’s Consumers?. I guess its short-lived campaign impact did not offer the lasting results on the company’s bottom line as it attempts to relieve itself of several of its retail locations.

While U.S. President Donald Trump may be notoriously known as a “Chief Deal Maker”, we should be turning our attention to the lasting play book of Mr. Robert Tucker as his mildly known deals are quite impressive and note-worthy. Over the last month, I’ve been studying Shoe Show, Inc., which has led me to reading Howard Convington Jr.’s 2009 book, Under the Radar: How Robert Tucker Built Shoe Show, Inc. into the Nation’s Largest Independent Show Retailer, on its patriarch, Mr. Robert Tucker. In his book, Convington uncovers some of the no-nonsense strategies Tucker has used to slowly expand Shoe Show, Inc.’s reach and influence while maintaining its position as an independent retailer. From his book, I have learned that Shoe Show’s long-term strategy is like that of the tortoise in the old but wildly popular children’s tale, The Tortoise and the Hare. While the company may be slower in its expansive growth in comparison to its competitors, time has always favored Tucker and his team as he continues to win big at the expense of rather worthy competitors.

Convington even highlighted a previous time in the early 2000s when Shoe Show, Inc. and Payless ShoeSource faced off head-to-head over the old retail locations of the former Pic ’N Pay company. Even then, Tucker was able to gingerly encourage Payless ShoeSource to take their prime location picks while Shoe Show managed to underbid on the leftover stores. While Payless spent about $2.3 million for 56 locations, Shoe Show came out as the obvious winner, acquiring 72 Pick ‘N Pay locations for a whopping total of $273,000.00. Apparently, these locations provided Shoe Show with an amazing profit margin as those locations went on to bring in millions to their top line.

With the Payless public announcement still settling amongst the public, I wouldn’t be surprised if plans were well underway for Shoe Show, Inc. to buy up the more premium Payless hotspots to further expand its reach in new areas. Mr. Tucker has always loved the hunt for the best deals, having trained his children and team members along the way. While Shoe Show, Inc. has yet to respond to my request for interview, I would not be surprised folks if we begin to see either Shoe Show, The Shoe Dept., Shoe Dept. Encore, etc. stores popping up soon in unfamiliar territory as Shoe Show is on the move “under the radar”.

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Unfamiliar with the Shoe Show brand? See my latest post, Save Money with Shoe Show, Inc., on my recent Shoe Show footwear finds.