Payless Footwear's Slogans & Taglines

Payless ShoeSource traces its origins to 1956, when cousins Louis and Shaol Pozez founded Pay-Less National in Topeka, Kansas, pioneering a self-service, cash-and-carry model that stripped costs from traditional shoe retail. The name Payless ShoeSource was adopted in 1978, and by the 1990s it had become the largest family footwear chain in the Western Hemisphere, peaking at over 4,500 stores. Early slogans included the minimalist "two for five – man alive!" and later the iconic "Expect More, Pay Less." The portfolio spans affordable footwear for men, women, and children, including the 1980s Pro Wings discount sneaker line and private-label basics. After May Department Stores acquired the chain in 1979 and spun it off in 1996, Payless acquired Stride Rite in 2007, briefly becoming Collective Brands. Chapter 11 filings in 2017 and 2019 shuttered its U.S. stores, but the brand relaunched in 2020 with an e-commerce focus and continued international operations across Latin America and the Caribbean.