NEW YORK, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- U.S. discount clothing chains Filene's Basement and its parent company Syms filed for bankruptcy protection Wednesday in the face of the challenging economic downturns.

"We have been faced with increased competition from large department stores that now offer the same brands as our stores at similar discounts," said Syms CEO Marcy Syms in a statement, adding that "filing for bankruptcy and pursuing a liquidation of the stores was not a step we took lightly".

The liquidation of stores is expected to run through approximately January 2012 and then more than two dozen Syms and Filene's Basement stores will shut for good.

Syms, founded in 1959, is most well-known for its longtime tag line that "an educated consumer is our best customer", and Filene' s Basement is famous for its annual "Running of the Brides" with hundreds of women scrambling for discounted wedding dresses.