FACTBOX- Recent U.S. retail bankruptcies

(Reuters) - U.S. retailers Goody's and Gottschalks filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this week, joining a growing list of store chains hit hard by a year-long recession.

Restructuring experts see a wave of retail bankruptcies in the coming months due to dismal sales and a credit crunch. Some expect the largest U.S. chains will weather the storm better than their local and regional rivals.

Here is a list of some U.S. retailers who have filed for bankruptcy protection in recent months:

GOTTSCHALKS INC

The regional department store chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on January 14. Based in Fresno, California, the company said it had negotiated $125 million (£86 million) in debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing from a group of lenders led by GE Capital, a unit of General Electric Co.

Gottschalks was founded in 1904 and operates 58 department stores and three specialty apparel stores in the western United States. It plans to pursue options that include the sale of the company or another transaction.

GOODY'S LLC

Privately held family apparel retailer Goody's said in a court filing on January 13 that it again filed Chapter 11 and that it plans to liquidate its remaining 282 stores.

The move comes less than three months after it emerged from bankruptcy. The company said that a "significant downturn in the national economy caused severe and unexpected financial pressures." Goody's, based in Knoxville, Tennessee, was founded in 1953 and operates in 20 U.S. states, mostly in the Southeast.