Payless Shoesource Inc. (PSS) on Friday revealed the completion of the purchase of the Stride Rite Corp for $900 million. Following the completion of the deal, the company has officially changed its name to Collective Brands, Inc. and, as a holding company, would operate three standalone business units.The company stated that the three highly complementary and separate business units have distinct missions in terms of their product offering, distribution channels, and target customer base. The business units are Payless ShoeSource, Stride Rite and Collective Licensing International.In addition, the company noted that David Chamberlain, chief executive officer of the Stride Rite Corp., has retired from day-to-day operations of the company and would serve as an outside consultant to Matt Rubel.Further, Richard Thornton would continue to serve as president and chief operating officer of the Stride Rite unit. Matt Rubel would continue to head the Payless ShoeSource unit and Bruce Pettet would continue to lead the Collective Licensing unit, the company added.
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.