Boston-based athletic gear retailer City Sports Inc. filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy Monday in order to liquidate at least a quarter of its stores.

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...