By Aisha Al-Muslim and Dave Sebastian

Discount home-goods retailer Tuesday Morning Corp. became the latest company to seek bankruptcy protection as the coronavirus pandemic continues to hamper retail even as government-mandated closures and social-distancing regulations are eased.

The spate of bankruptcies in the retail sector comes as long closures tipped companies that were already struggling over the edge.

The off-price retailer filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy Wednesday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Dallas, saying it plans to close about a third of its stores permanently, after temporary closures in March created an "insurmountable financial hurdle." The Wall Street Journal earlier reported that the company was preparing to file for bankruptcy after a debt default.

"The prolonged and unexpected closures of our stores in response to Covid-19 has had severe consequences on our business," Chief Executive Steve Becker said. "However, the complete halt of store operations for two months put the company in a financial position that can be effectively addressed only through a reorganization in chapter 11."

Tuesday Morning said about 80% of stores closed due to the pandemic have reopened, with more reopenings over the coming weeks. So far, comparable-store sales for reopened stores were about 10% higher than a year earlier, the retailer said.

The Dallas company said that over the summer, it expects to permanently close about 230 of its 687 stores as well as its distribution center in Phoenix. It plans a footprint of roughly 450 stores after the closures, it said.

Founded in 1974, the national retailer of off-price home textiles, home furnishings, housewares, gourmet food, toys and seasonal décor had annual sales of about $1 billion in recent years. It operates in 39 states.

Tuesday Morning's growth has been hampered by weak brand recognition partly due to a lack of marketing and by inconsistent merchandise offerings, said Neil Saunders, managing director of the retail team at analytics firm GlobalData.

"Many stores are not so much an Aladdin's cave of exciting treasures as a jumbled flea market of whatever buyers could seemingly get their hands on," Mr. Saunders said.

Unlike some of its competitors, Tuesday Morning is a discount retailer without an e-commerce presence at a time when more sales are shifting online.

The shift to e-commerce amid the pandemic is expected to lead to a record number of bricks-and-mortar store closures this year and in the coming years, analysts say. Roughly 100,000 stores are expected to close over the next five years -- more than triple the number that shut during the 2007-09 recession -- as e-commerce jumps to a quarter of U.S. retail sales from 15% last year, UBS estimates.

The pandemic has pushed a number of troubled retailers -- department-store chain J.C. Penney Co., luxury retailer Neiman Marcus Group Inc., apparel seller J.Crew Group Inc., rural department store operator Stage Stores Inc. and branded-apparel maker Centric Brands Inc. among them -- into bankruptcy in recent weeks.

On Friday, Hertz Global Holdings Inc., one of the nation's largest car-rental companies, sought protection from creditors under chapter 11, hoping to survive a drop-off in ground traffic because of the coronavirus.

And on Wednesday, rental-car company Advantage and the U.S. arm of restaurant chain Le Pain Quotidien filed for bankruptcy protection.

The coronavirus has also devastated business for other home-good retailers, driving Pier 1 Imports Inc. and Art Van Furniture Inc. out of business after they filed for bankruptcy.

Tuesday Morning said it plans to emerge from bankruptcy by the early fall. The retailer will also consider other alternatives, including a sale of assets out of bankruptcy, according to a sworn declaration filed by Barry Folse, a managing director at AlixPartners LLP, the company's restructuring adviser.

In the meantime, Tuesday Morning will continue operating during the reorganization process with the help of a $100 million bankruptcy financing commitment from its lenders. It said it is also negotiating a commitment for up to $25 million in additional financing.

In court papers, the company valued its assets at $92 million and listed total debt of about $88.4 million. Its largest shareholders are mutual-fund company T. Rowe Price Group Inc.; activist investor Delta Value Group Investment Partnership LP, a firm controlled by investor Kenneth Traub; as well as money manager Vanguard Group.

Tuesday Morning has also hired law firm Haynes & Boone LLP and investment bank Miller Buckfire, part of Stifel, Nicolaus & Co.

Judge Harlin DeWayne Hale has been assigned the case, number 20-31476.

Write to Aisha Al-Muslim at aisha.al-muslim@wsj.com and Dave Sebastian at dave.sebastian@wsj.com