April 21, 2026
Photo courtesy of Staples, Party City
Is the Party City and Staples Partnership Cause for Celebration?
With Staples staring down continued store closures and Party City having famously shuttered nearly all of its U.S. stores following a high-profile bankruptcy, it appears that both embattled entities are now joining forces in a new effort to drum up business.
The details are a bit sparse at this point in time, as delivered via an April 21 press release: Party City will be making appearances via in-store installations at Staples locations nationwide, with the participating store count targeted at over 700 locations immediately and expansion of the program on the table throughout the remainder of the year.
“Just in time for graduation season, the collaboration brings Party City’s selection of balloons, décor and party supplies together with Staples same-day print and marketing services,” the press release stated.
“Together, this creates a single destination for a wide range of personal and professional occasions — from birthdays and baby showers to grand openings and retirement parties. Customers can shop party décor, tableware, gift bags, costume accessories and favors, while also creating personalized invitations, banners, yard signs and posters through Staples print services,” it added.
Several promotional offers are backing the play, including — a buy two, get one free deal on select foil ballons; a discount of $5 on the purchase of party supplies totaling $25 or greater; an assortment of inflatable bouquets starting at just under $20; and a significant 40% price cut on custom cards, invitations, photo gifts, wrapping paper, posters, banners and yard signs; all running from today through June 13.
The press release claimed that approximately 4 million high school students were set to cross the stage this year, and that spending tied to graduation last year was $6.8 billion — a hefty cut of which the new partners in the celebration space were looking to capture in 2026.
“Staples has always been focused on making things easy for our customers, and our partnership with Party City takes that promise into new territory,” said Marshall Warkentin, President, Staples U.S. Retail.
“By bringing Party City into Staples stores, we’re expanding what customers can accomplish in one place — combining helium balloons and party supplies with our print and marketing services to offer a complete solution for celebrations, from graduations to grand openings and everything in between,” he continued.
Staples Attempts To Balance B2B Pivot with Traditional In-Store Partnerships
Staples, in particular, has been shifting a great deal of its focus to high-volume B2B operations and ecomm, similar to competitor Office Depot. That doesn’t mean it has entirely given up on the in-store experience, however, and this latest partnership with Party City is just one of many it has kicked off as of late.
In-store optical care centers have been installed in conjunction with Stanton Optical, and Verizon has helmed the introduction of additional tech services in certain Staples locations.
BrainTrust
Nicholas Morine
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Discussion Questions
Will the partnership between Staples and Party City bear meaningful fruit, in your opinion? Why or why not? What obstacles exist?
What sort of innovations beyond the most obvious plays might Staples or Party City leverage in order to drive unique interest in this team-up? Could fun actually sell at Staples?
Poll
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Staples continues to try and make itself relevant. And this isn’t a bad way of doing it – but, the whole world and his wife have tried to cash in on the failure of Party City. So Staples will need to find ways to differentiate from Michaels, Target and the like – all of which are more closely affiliated with the celebration space. And let’s be brutally honest here: the words Staples and fun are not natural companions!
I’m not convinced this is the obvious win some are making it out to be. The real question is whether an office supply shopper is also looking for party décor, and whether a party supply customer sees Staples as a natural destination.
That overlap may be smaller than it appears.
Retail partnerships work best when the customer mission is closely aligned. If the connection feels forced, it can create confusion more than convenience. Buying printer ink and buying birthday balloons are very different errands, even if they happen under the same roof.
That said, if Staples targets the right occasions, like office celebrations, school events, graduations, and small business gatherings, there is a lane where this can work. The opportunity is less about broad crossover and more about solving specific needs at the right moment.
Didn’t all of these shopping journeys migrate online? (Except for helium balloons, of course…)
Two rights don’t make a wrong but do two losers make a winner?
What is the competitive product or service that will miraculously bring this duo back to life, much less relevance?
I was a loyal Staples customer but stopped shopping there years ago because their customer service got progressively worse. So I was not surprised when bad customer service in a highly competitive market resulted in poor performance (and store closures). That prediction was EASY.
I think this says it all (from the article): “The details are a bit sparse at this point in time.”
We have some sort of family get-together every month, so I actually miss Party City. I know I am not alone.
Staples is collecting so many partners it’s starting to feel like a mini-mall. One-stop shopping. Although, I don’t see myself stopping in for an eye exam any time soon.
The Staples–Party City partnership is a creative idea on paper—but it also carries real risk given the starting point of both brands. The strategy centers on a “store-within-a-store” model, bringing a curated assortment of balloons, décor, and party supplies into select Staples locations as Party City rebuilds following bankruptcy.
From a practical standpoint, this feels like one of those situations where—borrowing your phrase—two struggling players coming together doesn’t automatically create a winning outcome. Party City’s performance leading up to bankruptcy was clearly challenged, and Staples has been fighting for relevance in a declining office supplies category. The idea of combining them is logical in terms of traffic and adjacency, but it doesn’t inherently solve the underlying issues of brand relevance, differentiation, or customer demand.
That said, there is a path where this could work. The biggest opportunity lies in convenience and adjacency. Staples can position itself as a one-stop shop for “projects”—school, work, printing, and now events. Party City benefits by regaining physical distribution quickly and at a lower cost structure. But the obstacles are meaningful:
- Limited assortment vs. traditional Party City stores
- Lack of clear brand identity inside a shared space
- Questionable overlap between core customer missions
- The risk that neither brand meaningfully elevates the other
For this partnership to bear fruit, it has to move beyond the obvious “balloons in the corner” execution. Some more innovative plays could include:
- Event-as-a-service (bundled party kits, printing + décor + invitations)
- Omnichannel integration (order online, pick up party-ready bundles in-store)
- Local/community activation (school events, small business celebrations, seasonal pop-ups)
- Leveraging Staples’ print capabilities for customized party experiences at scale
This is where “fun at Staples” could actually work—but only if it’s integrated into a broader solution, not just added as a product category.
Ultimately, this feels like a test-and-learn strategy. The concept has some merit, particularly as a low-cost re-entry for Party City and a traffic driver for Staples. But success will depend on execution and differentiation. If it remains a basic shop-in-shop, it risks reinforcing the challenges both brands already face. If it evolves into a more integrated, service-led offering, it at least has a chance to create something more compelling.
Neither Staples nor Party City is driving traffic on their own the way they used to. Combining forces to create more of a one-stop shop makes sense, but success will hinge on whether customers start to connect the dots between the two. Until that happens, it’ll play more as a convenience for existing shoppers than a driver of new trips.
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Staples continues to try and make itself relevant. And this isn’t a bad way of doing it – but, the whole world and his wife have tried to cash in on the failure of Party City. So Staples will need to find ways to differentiate from Michaels, Target and the like – all of which are more closely affiliated with the celebration space. And let’s be brutally honest here: the words Staples and fun are not natural companions!
I’m not convinced this is the obvious win some are making it out to be. The real question is whether an office supply shopper is also looking for party décor, and whether a party supply customer sees Staples as a natural destination.
That overlap may be smaller than it appears.
Retail partnerships work best when the customer mission is closely aligned. If the connection feels forced, it can create confusion more than convenience. Buying printer ink and buying birthday balloons are very different errands, even if they happen under the same roof.
That said, if Staples targets the right occasions, like office celebrations, school events, graduations, and small business gatherings, there is a lane where this can work. The opportunity is less about broad crossover and more about solving specific needs at the right moment.
Didn’t all of these shopping journeys migrate online? (Except for helium balloons, of course…)
Two rights don’t make a wrong but do two losers make a winner?
What is the competitive product or service that will miraculously bring this duo back to life, much less relevance?
I was a loyal Staples customer but stopped shopping there years ago because their customer service got progressively worse. So I was not surprised when bad customer service in a highly competitive market resulted in poor performance (and store closures). That prediction was EASY.
I think this says it all (from the article): “The details are a bit sparse at this point in time.”
We have some sort of family get-together every month, so I actually miss Party City. I know I am not alone.
Staples is collecting so many partners it’s starting to feel like a mini-mall. One-stop shopping. Although, I don’t see myself stopping in for an eye exam any time soon.
The Staples–Party City partnership is a creative idea on paper—but it also carries real risk given the starting point of both brands. The strategy centers on a “store-within-a-store” model, bringing a curated assortment of balloons, décor, and party supplies into select Staples locations as Party City rebuilds following bankruptcy.
From a practical standpoint, this feels like one of those situations where—borrowing your phrase—two struggling players coming together doesn’t automatically create a winning outcome. Party City’s performance leading up to bankruptcy was clearly challenged, and Staples has been fighting for relevance in a declining office supplies category. The idea of combining them is logical in terms of traffic and adjacency, but it doesn’t inherently solve the underlying issues of brand relevance, differentiation, or customer demand.
That said, there is a path where this could work. The biggest opportunity lies in convenience and adjacency. Staples can position itself as a one-stop shop for “projects”—school, work, printing, and now events. Party City benefits by regaining physical distribution quickly and at a lower cost structure. But the obstacles are meaningful:
For this partnership to bear fruit, it has to move beyond the obvious “balloons in the corner” execution. Some more innovative plays could include:
This is where “fun at Staples” could actually work—but only if it’s integrated into a broader solution, not just added as a product category.
Ultimately, this feels like a test-and-learn strategy. The concept has some merit, particularly as a low-cost re-entry for Party City and a traffic driver for Staples. But success will depend on execution and differentiation. If it remains a basic shop-in-shop, it risks reinforcing the challenges both brands already face. If it evolves into a more integrated, service-led offering, it at least has a chance to create something more compelling.
Neither Staples nor Party City is driving traffic on their own the way they used to. Combining forces to create more of a one-stop shop makes sense, but success will hinge on whether customers start to connect the dots between the two. Until that happens, it’ll play more as a convenience for existing shoppers than a driver of new trips.