Payless Cashways Changes Focus: Opens Five, Closes 22

DALLAS-Two new Payless Cashways building products stores will open in North Texas in line with a retail restructuring announcement that calls for 22 closings by the Kansas City, MO-based company.

Lake Dallas and Duncanville have been selected for the new Texas stores. Payless Cashways also will open locations in Cincinnati, Denver and Kansas City, MO. The chain has not announced the locations of the 22 stores that will be closed. It has 27 outlets in Texas.

The shuffle is part of a new growth initiative targeting professional homebuilders, contractors and project-oriented consumers. The company says the facilities will better leverage resources and will open under its PCI Builders Resource and Contractor Supply branding.

In the store change-outs, the company is incurring $13 million to $15 million one-time charges, excluding taxes, for corporate and staff severance packages, lease terminations and fixed asset and inventory dispositions that always accompany shutdowns. The overall goal is to reduce debt by $60 million and reposition Payless Cashways for future growth, says a company executive.

Payless operates 155 stores in 18 states in the western half of the US. The retail sites operate under the brands of Payless, Furrow, Lumberjack, Hugh M. Woods, Knox Lumber, PCI Builders Resource and Contractor Supply.