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Due to current bankruptcy procedures, Party City will reportedly close all of its facilities in the United States after 40 years. Higher-ups at the retail business informed the staff that closures will vary by location, with some remaining open until February 2025 and others closing shortly.
A CNN article from December 21 claimed that Barry Litwin, the CEO of the company, whose parent company is Party City Holdings Inc., told the corporate staff about the closure. Bloomberg News further reported on Tuesday, December 17, that as per some of the people from the company, the bankruptcy happened as the party supply and craft company is reportedly late on rent in some of its 850 locations across the country.
However, the exact dates of the stores' closing have not yet been made public. MSN and other news outlets reportedly contacted various stores of the brand to inquire about the closing dates as there was no predetermined timeline for the store closures.
Party City is closing all of its stores shortly
Early in 2023, there were indications that the corporation planned to declare Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US. The epidemic and shifting consumer behavior were two of the many causes that prompted the filing. Additionally, powerhouse retailers like Walmart and Target, as well as occasion-based pop-up shops like Spirit Halloween, have been posing a growing threat to the brand for years.
The business was able to obtain $150 million in funding to maintain its operations and retail locations. By making the change, the business was able to finish its "expedited restructuring" to lower its debt by the second quarter of 2023. Following a US judge's approval of their bankruptcy plans, the company formally declared on September 6, 2023, that they had finished their bankruptcy reorganization.
During the reorganization, it was able to successfully reduce its debt by over $1 billion by closing over 60 locations, particularly in Kansas, New York, Missouri, and Kentucky. During the rest of 2023, a small number of its stores were permanently closed, especially those in more remote neighborhoods and those in less profitable locations.
The company then issued a warning in December 2024 that it was running out of money to keep a number of its stores functioning and would be getting ready to declare bankruptcy for the second time in two years. As part of a winding-down process, the corporation also declared that it would close all of its US locations by February 1, 2025.
However, the Canadian stores will stay open since Canadian Tire owns them. Then, when the retail chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the company's decades-long presence in the market ended on December 21, 2024.
Meanwhile, a report published on December 21 in the US Sun states that Party City's Paramus site in New Jersey will continue to operate until late February or early March 2025. Additionally, Party City operated 747 sites across the United States as of October 2024. There are 63 Party City establishments in Florida, 82 in Texas, and 88 in California. It's unlikely that these stores will close immediately.
However, according to a January 25, 2023, NY Post article, Party City's founder Steve Mandell attributed the retailer's bankruptcy to poor management by private equity firms, who allegedly raised prices despite the company's history as a discounter.
Mandell, who started the chain with just one location in East Hanover, New Jersey, told the Post:
“They [new owners] took out the top two things that made this company very special. First, we were at the discount party superstore. Today, it is not a discount store. The prices are top dollar. Second, Party City had a great variety.”
He continued:
“Party City did away with competition. All of the innovation is long gone. That is a huge problem.”
Meanwhile, no other information has been revealed as of yet.
