The Payless footwear chain store announced this week it has filed for bankruptcy in the United States and Canada, and plans to close some 400 stores.

No Costa Rican stores will be affected by the financial difficulties.

The Kansas-based firm, which has accumulated debts in excess of US$1 billion, said it had filed papers in a court in St. Louis, Missouri, and had also pleaded before the court in Canada.

“It’s a difficult but necessary decision, driven by constant challenges in the retail environment,” company CEO Paul Jones said in a statement.

The measure seeks to “facilitate the necessary financial and operational restructuring” in order to balance its accounts and ensure the long-term success of the company, the company said in a statement.

As part of the decision, the company announced the “immediate closure” of about 400 stores in the United States and Puerto Rico that registered poor results, in order to reassessing their management.

The company’s operations in the United States and Canada, as well as two firms engaged in logistics operations and based in Hong Kong are under scrutiny in the wake of the dire situation.

The decision by the footwear chain comes as stores in the US and Canada are being hit by a marked decline in retail store sales as customers increasingly chose Internet shopping options.

Payless was established in 1956, and has more than 4,000 stores in 30 countries.