Bon-Ton Department Stores, Inc., which operates 260 stores under several banners across 24 states, saiys it plans to close 45 stores this year and could file for bankruptcy protection while it reorganizes.

The company will close 12 Carson’s, 16 Bon-Ton, seven Younkers and six Elder-Beerman stores, plus four stores under three other names, according to The Republic. The stores set apart for closure represent roughly $200 million of the company’s total sales but contribute comparatively minimal earnings, according to a Bon-Ton Stores filing. The company says it anticipates that these closings will save about $4 million in rent costs.

Bon-Ton Stores says in the filing documents that it retains confidence in its brand name and that it will leverage the Carson’s banner this year to rebrand 11 Bergner’s and 13 Boston Store units as Carson’s stores.

For the nine-week holiday period ended Dec. 30, 2017, the company's comparable-store sales slipped by 2.9 percent. Total sales for the period came to $720.8 million, off from $752.1 million for the year-ago period.