Footstar, Inc. has entered into an agreement for the sale of its 27 Shoe Zone stores in Puerto Rico to Novus, Inc. for $5.5 million in cash, subject to closing adjustments and conditions including approval of the Bankruptcy Court. The agreement continues Footstar's progress in refocusing on its profitable Meldisco operations.
Novus is a leading footwear retailer in Puerto Rico, operating 64 stores through five distinct retail concepts including Novus, La Favorita, Bakers, Wild Pair and Metro.
Dale W. Hilpert, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “Shoe Zone is a retail concept targeting Hispanic customers that Meldisco has been incubating over the past two years. While Shoe Zone has shown promising initial results, our focus at this time must be on strengthening our profitable core operations and positioning the Company for emergence from Chapter 11. We believe that Novus, as a leader in the Puerto Rican footwear market, has the expertise to take Shoe Zone to the next level.”
Carlos Castellon, President of Novus, Inc., added, “We look forward to building on our strong market position through the addition of these 27 Shoe Zone stores, which we will continue to operate under the Shoe Zone banner. We look forward to working with Footstar on the transition of this business. In particular, we plan to partner with Footstar to continue to provide many of the same great styles that the Shoe Zone customer has come to expect, especially the Thom McAn brand.”
The transaction is expected to close by the middle of summer.
