Party City is closing all of its stores after nearly four decades of business, according to CNN.
This reported announcement comes just over a week after news broke that the party supplies retailer was considering declaring its second bankruptcy in two years.
Barry Litwin, who was appointed Party City’s new president and CEO in August, told employees the company’s operations were “winding down” immediately during a Friday meeting.
Employees were also told Friday would be their last day in the job, and they wouldn’t get severance pay. Their benefits would also expire.
“That is without question the most difficult message that I’ve ever had to deliver,” Litwin said on the video conference call obtained by CNN.
The CEO attributed the company’s collapse to financial challenges like inflation, which forced costs to go up while consumer spending plummeted.
“It’s really important for you to know that we’ve done everything possible that we could to try to avoid this outcome,” Litwin said. “Unfortunately, it’s necessary to commence a winddown process immediately.”
The country’s largest party supply store has been in financial trouble for years, first filing for bankruptcy in January 2023. That bankruptcy came with a restructuring that sparked store closures.
In a press release, then-CEO Brad Weston said that the pandemic and a global supply chain crisis were factors in the bankruptcy filing. As a part of its bankruptcy plan, the company saw its debt reduced by $1 billion and equity shares turned over to the retailer’s lenders. Party City also closed several underperforming stores.
While the company exited bankruptcy in September 2023, CNN reported the company was not able to overcome its financial challenges. Party City has suffered from years of lagging sales and the chain was behind on rent at some locations.
Party City did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment on the company’s closure.
The company faces competition from online stores, such as Amazon, and also seasonal pop-ups, such as Spirit Halloween, which pushed into the Christmas market as well this year.
How many Party City stores does Texas have?
Of its over 850 stores across the U.S., the Lone Star State is home to 88 locations.
- Abilene
- Amarillo
- Austin (4)
- Baytown
- Beaumont
- Brownsville
- Burleson
- Carrollton
- Cedar Hill
- Cedar Park
- College Station
- Conroe
- Corpus Christi
- Cypress
- Dallas (2)
- Denton
- Edinburg
- El Paso (3)
- Euless
- Flower Mound
- Fort Worth (2)
- Frisco
- Harlingen
- Houston (7)
- Humble (2)
- Hurst
- Irving
- Katy
- Killeen
- Lake Worth
- Laredo
- League City
- Lewisville
- Longview
- Lubbock
- Mansfield
- McAllen
- McKinney
- Mesquite
- Midland
- New Caney
- Odessa
- Pasadena
- Pearland
- Plano (2)
- Port Arthur
- Richardson
- Richmond
- Rockwall
- Round Rock
- San Antonio (4)
- Shenandoah
- Spring
- Sugar Land
- Temple
- Texarkana
- Tomball
- Tyler
- Waco
- Watauga
- Webster
- Wichita Falls
— USA TODAY contributed to this report.
