Beloved retail chain closes last stores as hundreds shut after 40 years
The largest party supply retail chain in the US has officially closed down all of its remaining stores.
Party City, which had more than 700 stores and franchises across North America, finishing shuttering its last remaining locations after filing for bankruptcy before Christmas.
Following the purge, nine franchises that collectively own 29 locations will remain open even after the bankruptcy, while the the owners of the individual stores will have to band together to keep the remaining outlets open.
‘It’s really important for you to know that we’ve done everything possible that we could to try to avoid this outcome,’ CEO Barry Litwin told employees ahead of the announcement in late 2024.
‘Unfortunately, it’s necessary to commence a winddown process immediately.’
For nearly four decades, Party City offered decorations, balloons and other items for birthdays and special occasions at affordable prices.
‘Party City is a global leader in the celebrations industry, delivering joy and inspiration to customers across more than 70 countries,’ the company states on its website.
The New Jersey-based corporation declared bankruptcy in January 2023 after struggling to pay off a $1.7billion debt. Party City hired Litwin as the new CEO in August and the company got out of bankruptcy a month after.
At the time, Party City had more than 800 stores, but shuttered over 80 of them from late 2022 to this August, state its latest financial records.
The chain still had $800million in debt.
On Friday, some employees received letters that their respective stores would close on February 28.
‘Although Party City believes these closings are in the best interest of the company, we regret that we have had to take this step and thank you for your valued contributions and service to the company,’ read the letter.
Meanwhile, staff who were let go today lost their benefits simultaneously and will not get severance pay.
‘That is without question the most difficult message that I’ve ever had to deliver,’ Litwin said during the conference call.
It comes just months after the second-biggest pharmacy chain in the US, Walgreens, announced it would close 1,200 of its locations as one-fourth of stores were unprofitable.
Chains are set to close the most stores this year since 2020, per Coresight Research.
This article was first published on December 20, 2024.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.