LA GRANDE — The parent company of Bealls and other department stores filed Sunday for bankruptcy protection, unable to climb out of a financial hole the COVID-19 pandemic made even deeper.

Houston-based Stage Stores Inc. in a press release also announced it will simultaneously seek buyers for all or parts of its business and “initiate an orderly wind-down of operations.”

The company operates Bealls, Goody’s, Palais Royal and other brands, primarily in rural communities, and employs approximately 14,700 people at roughly 700 stores across 42 states, according to the court documents it filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston, its base of operations.

Bealls has a few stores in Oregon, including in La Grande and Hermiston. Stage Stores closed its properties due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Signs on the inside of the windows at the La Grande Bealls explain the store remains closed until the state lifts the restrictions to curb the spread of the virus.

Stage Stores in its press release stated it is taking a phased approach to reopening its stores in the coming weeks to liquidate inventory.

The company anticipates reopening 557 stores May 15, another 67 stores on May 28 and the “balance of the chain” on June 4. Stage Stores also will end the wind-down at certain locations if it receives a viable going-concern bid.

The company’s Chapter 11 filing listed total assets as of Nov. 2, 2019, at more than $1.7 billion and total liabilities at a little more than $1 billion. The company owes more than $3.6 million to Nike Inc., its top creditor, and almost $487,000 to its 50th ranked creditor, the footwear company Caleres Inc. of Missouri.

Michael Glazer, Stage Stores president and CEO, in the press release said the company has no more avenues to pursue save for seeking Chapter 11 protection.

“Over the last several months, we had been taking significant steps to attempt to strengthen our financial position and find an independent path forward,” according to the statement. “However, the increasingly challenging market environment was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which required us to temporarily close all of our stores and furlough the vast majority of our associates. Given these conditions, we have been unable to obtain necessary financing and have no choice but to take these actions.”

The company also filed a slew of motions seeking court orders to continue to operate, including the ability to pay employee wages, salaries and health benefits. Stage Stores in its press release also reported it “expects to honor existing customer programs, including gift cards and returns, for the first 30 days after a store reopens.”