Payless ShoeSource Continues Global Expansion with Franchise Deal for Stores in India

TOPEKA, Kan., Nov. 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Payless ShoeSource today announced an exclusive Pan India franchise arrangement with Reliance Retail, India's largest retailer. According to the arrangement Reliance Retail Limited, a division of India's largest private sector company, Reliance Industries Limited, will partner with Payless ShoeSource as its exclusive franchisee in India to establish the Payless ShoeSource retail chain in India. 

The arrangement is aimed at leveraging Payless' capabilities of creating a unique and delightful store experience through a trend-right product mix that appeals to the budget-conscious shopper, and Reliance's established competencies in the Indian retail sector of building strong retail networks and running the store operations nationwide efficiently. Reliance Retail will replicate the experiential elements of Payless stores around the world and will offer an entire footwear and fashion offering to the family.

Today, Payless has 258 franchised stores located in the Middle East, Asia and Eastern Europe in such countries as Russia, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, South Korea, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates and Malaysia, among others.

"I am excited about this partnership with Reliance Retail, who shares our vision for the Payless brand and is the preeminent retail company in India.  A cornerstone of the Payless strategy is to expand into new markets and become the brand that resonates with consumers around the globe, and be the first choice for budget-conscious consumers who shop for shoes and accessories. Partnering with Reliance will further our vision of being the 'go-to' shoe store that shoppers anywhere in the world can count on to be there for them and for their families, helping them look good every step of the way," says Paul Jones, CEO of Payless Holdings.

With this new partnership Reliance Retail further improves its proposition in the footwear segment by offering a wide range of fashionable, comfortable, high-quality and affordable footwear to Indian consumers.

"Payless is an exciting addition to Reliance's retail portfolio offering fashionable footwear at affordable prices for the Indian consumers. It is a complete family store, very vibrant and has great offerings for all. We believe this association has the potential to storm the ladies and kids footwear market in India which has largely been unorganized and fragmented to date. The association underlines our core philosophy of democratizing fashion. We are very excited about this venture and look forward to launching these stores in India next year," says G. Sankar, CEO Footwear business, Reliance Retail.

Payless stores in India will be positioned as the first choice for budget-conscious consumers in the shoes and accessories segment. The offerings will comprise a comprehensive range of shoes and accessories including wedges, flats and canvas sneakers, handbags, boots, and a range of fashionable sandals; all at great value prices. A unique feature of Payless stores is its hard-to-find sizing for women and the unique right-sizing service for children.

Payless' collection includes shoes for every need – dress, casual and athletic styles for women, men and kids, as well as special footwear like dance shoes, sport cleats, water socks and slip resistant footwear, among others. Payless stores also carry an array of accessories such as socks, handbags, scarves, jewellery and hair items, all intended to help everybody complete their looks.

Payless stores feature well-known portfolio of brands including Airwalk®, Dexter®, Brash™, designer label Christian Siriano for Payless™ and children's brand Smartfit®.

About Payless ShoeSource:
Payless ShoeSource is the largest specialty family footwear retailer in the Western Hemisphere, offering a wide range of shoes and accessory items at affordable prices for every member of the family. The company's mission is simple: Become the first choice for style and value in footwear and accessories for our customers. Payless has more than 4,400 stores in more than 30 countries and was founded in 1956 in Topeka, Kan. where its global headquarters remains today.  Payless is a portfolio company of Golden Gate Capital and Blum Capital.

About Reliance Retail Limited:
Reliance Retail Limited (RRL), a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited opened its first retail store in November 2006 and today operates more than 1,550 stores spread across 136 cities with nearly 10 million square feet of retail space. RRL's loyalty membership program Reliance One has over 14.5 million members. RRL is a multi-format retailer that operates stores across FMCG, food, electronics & consumer durables, apparel, footwear, jewellery, lifestyle and home improvement categories.

Reliance Retail is today the largest grocery retailer in the country. Reliance Digital, Reliance Trends and Reliance Footprint are leaders in their respective formats with the largest number of stores.

About Reliance Industries Limited:
Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) is India's largest private sector company on all major financial parameters with a turnover of INR 371,119 crore (US$ 68.4 billion), cash profit of INR 30,505 crore (US$ 5.6 billion) and net profit of INR 21,003 crore (US$ 3.9 billion) as of March 31, 2013.

RIL is the first private sector company from India to feature in Fortune's Global 500 list of 'World's Largest Corporations' and currently ranks 107th in terms of revenues and 128th in terms of profits in 2013. RIL ranks 68th in the Financial Times' FT Global 500 list of the world's largest companies. RIL is ranked amongst the '50 Most Innovative Companies - 2010' in the World in a survey conducted by the US financial publication - Business Week in collaboration with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In 2010, BCG also ranked RIL as the second highest 'Sustainable Value Creators' for creating the most shareholder value over the decade in the world.

SOURCE Payless ShoeSource