Party City Closing Stores, Going Out of Business

Party City is closing down all of its stores, ending nearly 40 years in business, CNN has learned. CEO Barry Litwin told corporate employees Friday in a meeting viewed by CNN that Party City is “winding down” operations immediately and that today will be their last day of employment. Staff were told they will not receive severance pay, and they were told their benefits would end as the company goes out of business. Party City declared bankruptcy in January 2023, but it still had more than $800 million in debt to overcome, which strained earnings this year. The retailer is planning to shutter all store locations by Feb. 28, at which point store staff would be terminated.

Total Retail's Take: This is the latest brick-and-mortar retailer to announce it will be ceasing operations, joining Big Lots last week in announcing going-out-of-business processes. For Party City, a heavy debt burden combined with rising costs and increased competition, both online and offline, resulted in the demise of the retailer. It has been a challenging year for brick-and-mortar retailers, with major chains on track this year to close the highest number of stores than in any year since 2020, according to Coresight Research.