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New York
CNN
—
Party City is closing down all of its stores, ending practically 40 years in business, CNN has realized.
CEO Barry Litwin informed company workers Friday in a gathering seen by CNN that Party City is “winding down” operations instantly and that right now will probably be their final day of employment.
“That’s with out query the most tough message that I’ve ever needed to ship,” Litwin mentioned at the assembly, which was held on a video convention name.
Party City’s “highest efforts haven’t been sufficient to beat” its monetary challenges, he added, leading to the company’s collapse.
“It’s actually essential so that you can know that we’ve performed the whole lot potential that we might to attempt to keep away from this consequence,” Litwin mentioned. “Sadly, it’s essential to start a winddown course of instantly.”
Party City didn’t instantly reply to CNN’s request for remark.
Chapter and collapse
The New Jersey-based company introduced Litwin as its new CEO simply 4 months in the past. In a LinkedIn post he wrote when he was employed, he mentioned the company’s “most important precedence is to strengthen our monetary well being, and there may be work forward of us.”
Party City exited bankruptcy a month after Litwin’s arrival. It had declared bankruptcy in January 2023. The company had struggled to repay its $1.7 billion debt load, and it was in a position to cancel practically $1 billion in debt by going bankrupt. It additionally managed to maintain most of its more-than 800 stores open, though it closed greater than 80 areas between the finish of 2022 to August 2024, in accordance with its most up-to-date monetary paperwork.
Nevertheless it nonetheless had greater than $800 million in debt to beat, which strained earnings this yr.
Party City is the largest social gathering provide retailer in the United States. The company had roughly 6,400 full-time and 10,100 part-time employees as of 2021.
The company, which sells balloons, Halloween costumes and different social gathering items, has stumbled in the face of rising competitors from e-commerce websites and pop-up ideas like Spirit Halloween. Competitors from big-box retailers like Amazon, Walmart, Costco and others also crushed smaller chains.
It additionally needed to deal with rising prices throughout the pandemic and a helium shortage, which harm its essential balloon business.
The chain joins a rising checklist of retailer bankruptcies this yr as clients reduce on discretionary spending amid the rising value of residing. Notably, Big Lots announced Thursday it was beginning “going out of business” gross sales in any respect of its areas after a plan for a non-public fairness agency to rescue the chapter retailer failed.
Main chains are on monitor to shut the highest quantity of stores in 2024 than in any yr since 2020, in accordance with Coresight Analysis.
