Party City Is Closing All Stores After Nearly 40 Years in Business

Party City has shocked its longtime customers by abruptly announcing the closure of all stores nationwide after nearly 40 years in business.

According to a Friday meeting viewed by CNN, the party supply chain informed corporate employees that it would be their last day of employment with the New Jersey-based business.

“That is without question the most difficult message that I’ve ever had to deliver,” Party City CEO Barry Litwin reportedly said during the video conference call. Litwin also informed the employees that they’d be losing their jobs just five days before Christmas and wouldn’t be receiving any severance pay or unemployment benefits for their trouble.

Party City is going out of business after 40 years, closing down all its stores. Corporate employees were told today is their last day of employment.

[image or embed]

— Pop Base (@popbase.tv) December 20, 2024 at 1:14 PM

At the beginning of 2023, the biggest party supply retailer in the nation filed for bankruptcy, allowing it to pay off a debt of around $1 billion. Despite the filing, its issues persisted. Between 2022 and 2024, almost 80 stores were shut down.

Party City’s problems were attributed to several factors, including competition from big-box stores like Walmart and Amazon. The epidemic also harmed the company — a helium shortage reportedly disrupted its profitable balloon industry when the party and retail markets were already struggling.

There Was Some Hope for Party City

Despite its impending doom, there was some hope for Party City’s revitalization back in August. This confidence stemmed from Litwin’s appointment, which — in hindsight — now seems ill-placed.

Litwin, who has previously led Adorama and Global Industrial Company, was renowned for his proficiency in operational effectiveness and commercial expansion. Using his background in increasing revenue and profit, he was entrusted with improving the company’s financial performance and market position now that it has emerged from bankruptcy with a greatly decreased debt and a streamlined retail portfolio.

Party City also introduced a new store model in February 2024, and after successful pilot testing, it rapidly acquired popularity. With a dedicated service area and an improved balloon purchasing experience, the redesigned design offered two unique “birthday worlds” in each store: one for general festivities and one for children’s birthdays.

According to CNN, the retailer’s store managers were told that all locations would officially be closed in February 2025. Some employees received letters saying the doors would specifically close down on Feb. 28, “at which point store staff would be terminated.”