Nationwide liquidation sales at some Ultimate Electronics stores, including one in Boulder, are expected to start Wednesday.

The Thornton-based retailer, which operates nine stores in Colorado, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Jan. 26 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, where the store’s parent company, Ultimate Acquisition, is incorporated.

In a motion filed Friday, the company noted a downturn in business in 2010 and stated that an immediate “going out of business” sale is the best way to settle its debts because the products sitting on store shelves will lose value over time.

Ultimate’s single largest debt is $64.8 million owed to General Electric Capital, which will not allow the company to use its cash collateral to buy new inventory for the stores.

Boston-based Gordon Brothers Group is handling the liquidation sale. Representatives from the company did not return phone calls.

A manager at Ultimate’s Boulder location said a “going out of business” sale was expected to begin Wednesday. Employees at the Broomfield FlatIron Crossing location said a date for a liquidation sale had yet to be finalized.