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New York -- Party City is closing down each of its stores, ending astir 40 years successful business, CNN has learned.
CEO Barry Litwin told firm employees Friday successful a gathering viewed by CNN that Party City is "winding down" operations instantly and that contiguous volition beryllium their past time of employment.
"That is without question the astir hard connection that I've ever had to deliver," Litwin said astatine the meeting, which was held connected a video league call. Party City's "very champion efforts person not been capable to overcome" its fiscal challenges, helium added, resulting successful the company's collapse.
FILE - People store successful a Party City store connected January 18, 2023 successful Miami, Florida.
Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images
"It's truly important for you to cognize that we've done everything imaginable that we could to effort to debar this outcome," Litwin said. "Unfortunately, it's indispensable to commence a winddown process immediately."
Party City didn't instantly respond to CNN's petition for comment.
Bankruptcy and collapse
The concatenation is the largest enactment proviso store successful the United States and precocious exited bankruptcy successful September 2023. That program included the canceling of astir $1 cardinal successful debt, the dissolution of its banal and a bulk of its 800 US stores staying open.
Though successful the abbreviated word Party City managed to debar the aforesaid destiny arsenic Bed Bath & Beyond and 99 Cents Only Stores, it inactive had much than $800 cardinal successful indebtedness to overcome, which strained net this year.
The institution had closed much than 80 stores from the extremity of 2022 to August 2024, according to its astir caller fiscal documents.
Party City said successful a erstwhile connection that it had renegotiated galore of its leases and exited "less productive locations," which resulted successful galore of chain's workers remaining employed. The institution had astir 6,400 full-time and 10,100 part-time workers arsenic of 2021.
Party City filed for bankruptcy successful January 2023 aft struggling to wage disconnected its $1.7 cardinal indebtedness load. As a result, it was besides delisted from the New York Stock Exchange.
The New Jersey-based institution announced Litwin arsenic its caller CEO conscionable 4 months ago. In a LinkedIn post, helium said the company's "main precedence is to fortify our fiscal health, and determination is enactment up of us."
Net income for Party City decreased to $407 cardinal for the 3 months ending successful September 2023, compared to $502 cardinal successful the aforesaid play successful 2022, according to the company's latest fiscal disclosures.
The company, which sells balloons, Halloween costumes and different enactment goods, has stumbled successful the look of increasing contention from e-commerce sites and pop-up concepts similar Spirit Halloween. Competition from big-box retailers similar Amazon, Walmart, Costco and others besides crushed smaller chains.
It besides had to contend with rising costs during the pandemic and a helium shortage, which wounded its important balloon business.
The concatenation joins a increasing database of retailer bankruptcies this twelvemonth arsenic customers chopped backmost connected discretionary spending amid the rising outgo of living. Notably, Big Lots announced Thursday it was starting "going retired of business" income astatine each of its locations aft a program for a backstage equity steadfast to rescue the bankruptcy retailer failed.
Major chains are connected way to adjacent the highest fig of stores successful 2024 than successful immoderate twelvemonth since 2020, according to Coresight Research.
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