New CEO can't save City Sports -- or can he?

Boston-based sporting goods retailer City Sports has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and plans to liquidate at least a quarter of its stores.

According to the Wall Street Journal, City Sports said it has a deal with liquidators Tiger Capital Group to hold going-out-of-business sales at eight of the company’s 26 stores, which are scattered throughout the Northeast from Massachusetts to Washington, D.C.

For the remaining 18 stores, City Sports is working to locate a buyer during its bankruptcy case that would either continue operating the stores or liquidate them, the company said in court documents.

In July the retailer tapped Marty Hanaka, who has served on the board of directors of City Sports since 2008, as its new chief executive.

“We have arranged financing for reorganization and intend to emerge from this process a much healthier company, better positioned for long-term success,” said Hanaka Monday in a statement to Footwear News.

Founded in 1983, City Sports operates retail stores in metropolitan locations in Massachusetts; Rhode Island; New York; Washington, D.C.; Pennsylvania; Maryland; New Jersey; and Vermont.

Read more about the bankruptcy by clicking here.