Chautauqua Mall P-J file photo

LAKEWOOD — Bon-Ton stores in Lakewood and Warren were among more than 200 holding “going out of business sales” that began Friday.

Several signs announcing sales of 10 to 30 percent off merchandise were displayed at the Lakewood location at the Chautauqua Mall. The same was true of the Bon-Ton in the Warren Mall.

According to the company, based in York, Pa., the sales will last for about 10 to 12 weeks as the retailer begins the liquidation process. Two liquidation firms were the victors of an auction for the bankrupt company’s assets.

The retailer had failed to find a bidder willing to continue operating the business. A bankruptcy court hearing is scheduled next week to approve the sale and liquidation details.

In addition to the Chautauqua Mall, there are eight other Bon-Ton stores in Western New York and northwest Pennsylvania.

“While we are disappointed by this outcome and tried very hard to identify bidders interested in operating the business as a going concern, we are committed to working constructively with the winning bidder to ensure an orderly wind-down of operations,” President and CEO Bill Tracy said in a statement this week.

The company said Friday that store loyalty programs were discontinued; only cash and nationally recognized bank credit cards will be accepted as payments. Merchandise credits will continue to be honored for 10 days following the first day of store closing sales.

Gift cards and certificates will continue to be honored for the next 10 days, the company said. In addition, coupons will no longer be valid once sales begin.

Bon-Ton was operating 260 stores in 24 states, largely in the Northeast and Midwest, when it filed for bankruptcy in January. Liquidation firms Great American Group and Tiger Capital Group were the winners of the auction.

The 160-year-old company has survived economic recessions and depressions, but it couldn’t withstand technology that bolstered the ascendance of electronic retailing. The shift toward e-commerce, led by Amazon.com Inc., has claimed many other traditional and mall-based retailers, including cultural retail behemoth Toys R Us.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.