Middleborough-based Christmas Tree Shops may be preparing to declare chapter 11 bankruptcy, according to reporting from The Wall Street Journal.
The national media outlet reported on Thursday the retailer hired Boston law firm Murphy & King to prepare a potential filing.
The Christmas Tree Shops chain was founded in Yarmouth Port on Cape Cod in 1970. Its Sagamore store with its iconic windmill has been a landmark by the Sagamore Bridge for generations of Cape Cod vacationers.
The retailer has two locations in Central Massachusetts, in Natick and Shrewsbury.
In 2003, Bed Bath & Beyond, itself currently in the midst of bankruptcy, acquired CTS for approximately $200 million. Bed Bath & Beyond sold Christmas Tree Shops, Linen Holdings, and a distribution center located in Florence, New Jersey for $250 million to Handil Holdings, LLC of Sudbury in 2020.
Correction: An earlier version of this article stated that Christmas Tree Shops had a location in Framingham. That is incorrect. That store is located in Natick.
Update:Â Christmas Tree Shops will close two Massachusetts locations in Sagamore and Falmouth, according to reporting by Boston news station WCVB.
