Fitness and running retailer Luke's Locker filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection late Tuesday. It joins a list of sports retail bankruptcies and store closings last year, with Sports Authority being the biggest, as well as regional chains such as California's Sport Chalet, City Sports, Eastern Mountain Sports and Austin-based Golfsmith.

Luke's Locker president Matt Lucas said the company is putting a plan together with legal and financial experts with the goal of restoring the business "to its former strength." The company had sales last year of $34 million.

Luke's will continue to operate three stores in Dallas and Fort Worth located at 3046 Mockingbird Lane, 7317 Gaston Ave. and 2600 West 7th Street. The company has 40 employees.

Last week, the family-run business closed five stores in Plano, Southlake, Austin, Houston and The Woodlands and laid off about 40 people. Two other stores in Highland Village and Katy were closed earlier.

Training programs at the Dallas, Fort Worth, Plano and Southlake stores are continuing, Lucas said. The company is closely associated with local running groups and sponsors races and training programs.

Accelerated online competition and a rapid expansion of new stores with expensive leases created a cash crunch and it fell behind with its principal vendors who started demanding cash in advance of deliveries.

That "further exacerbating the liquidity crisis," the company said in its filing. "In spite of these problems, however, Luke's Locker still produced $34 million in revenue during the last fiscal year."

Luke's Locker filed for Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District in Plano. It listed both assets and liabilities of under $10 million.

Luke's Locker was started in Dallas in the 1970s by Don Lucas who started buying running shoes for himself from an Oregon company called Blue Ribbon Sports. Then Lucas sold the running shoes out of the trunk of his car to fellow runners, according to the bankruptcy filing.

In May 1971 Blue Ribbon changed its name to Nike.

Major brands are among its creditors including Adidas, Asics, Clif Bar, Columbia Sportswear, Gatorade, Hari Mari, Lorna Jane, Lucy, Manhattan Beachwear, New Balance, Nike, Patagonia, Under Armour and VF Outdoor.

On Wednesday, the company asked the court to approve a request to continue customer service policies including its return policy, rewards program and gift cards.

Twitter: @MariaHalkias