Payless ShoeSource to Open Stores in Middle East

Topeka, Kan. Collective Brands Inc., parent of Payless ShoeSource, said Wednesday it signed a deal with M.H. Alshaya, a Middle East retail franchise, to help bring its brand to the Middle East.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

The multiyear agreement calls for Payless stores to begin opening next year in areas including the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

M.H. Alshaya and Payless anticipate that the region may eventually contain more than 200 Payless stores.

In other international-expansion news, Payless opened four new stores in Bogota, Colombia last month and has plans to add more than 35 new stores in the country within the next 18 months.