The company that owns EMS, long known as Eastern Mountain Sports, and Bob’s Stores has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and will be shutting its Connecticut headquarters, according to press reports.

Eastern Mountain Sports was founded in Massachusetts in 1968 and has a long history in New Hampshire.

The fate of the company’s outdoor-inspired retail stores remains unclear. EMS shut its Concord store in Fort Eddy Plaza at the start of the year. Officials said at the time the company would seek a new location but none has been announced. Its stores in Manchester, Peterborough, West Lebanon and Portsmouth are still open, as is its outdoor school in North Conway. The company has said the Manchester store will close.

Bob’s EMS Holdings, the parent company of the two chains, filed for Chapter 11 protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware earlier this month, according to news reports. The retailers operate approximately 50 stores throughout the Northeast. Both firms are headquartered in Connecticut.

Bob’s Stores appears to have closed all its New Hampshire stores except one next to Tuscan Village in Salem. Its website was down Thursday.

Bob’s and EMS have a history of financial challenges. GoDigital, a multinational conglomerate, purchased the holding company in 2022.

Last year, EMS and Bob’s generated $131.9 million in net revenue, according the press reports based on court filings. PNC Bank, the company’s primary lender, alleges being owed nearly $30 million, while the company also owes nearly $27 million in unpaid rent and other operating debt.

The company plans to vacate its headquarters and distribution center in Connecticut, and to operate either remotely or from their larger stores, Dave Barton, president of Eastern Mountain Sports and Bob’s Stores, said in a prepared statement.