Party City

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Party City Holdco Inc.
Canadian Tire (Canada only; 2019–present)
DivisionsRetail
Consumer Products Group
WebsiteArchived official website at the Wayback Machine (archive index)
partycity.ca
partycity.com.mx

Party City Holdco Inc.

Chapter 11 bankruptcy,[5] laid off all administrative employees,[6] and announced they would liquidate and close most remaining stores in the United States.[7]
As of 2025, stores not operated by Party City Holdco, such as those in Canada, Puerto Rico, and Hawaii, were unaffected and continue to operate.

Retail History

Party City was founded by Steve Mandell in 1986. Mandell recognized that the market for party goods was highly fragmented, with many small

pop-up stores.[9] Party City started franchising stores in 1989, with the first franchise store located in Hazlet, New Jersey.[10] By 1990, Mandell also owned four Party City stores. At this point, he incorporated the business as a franchising operation, with his stores forming the core of the chain. By the end of 1990, Party City outlets numbered 11; five more franchised stores were added in 1991, 16 in 1992, and another 26 in 1993, bringing the total to 58. Party City was now a nationwide chain with store locations ranging from Hawaii to Puerto Rico. Party City's annual revenues in 1993 topped $2.4 million and net profits approached $235,000. During these first four years of operation, Mandell refined the Party City concept, including store design, product mix, choice of suppliers, and the implementation of systems. In late 1993, with a successful store model in hand, Mandell decided to de-emphasize franchising in favor of opening company-owned stores, which would generate greater returns for the corporation than it could receive on fees and royalties from franchised outlets, as well as allow Mandell to better control the destiny of Party City. While franchisees might maintain tighter inventory control, Mandell insisted that company-owned units would be amply stocked with a wide range of merchandise.[8][10]

Party City in Rockaway, New Jersey

In 2005, Party City was sold to a subsidiary of AAH Holdings Corporation, owner of Amscan, a designer, manufacturer, and distributor of party goods in America.

iParty.[15] In December 2017, Party City acquired MG Novelty Corporation for about $5.5 million; that Party City operated seven retail stores under the name Party Galaxy in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area.[16] In 2017, Party City purchased its franchised locations in the Carolinas.[17] In 2012, Advent International, Berkshire Partners LLC, and Weston Presidio sold a majority stake in Party City to Thomas H. Lee Partners. In 2015, Party City Holdco Inc. went public, with Thomas H. Lee Partners retaining 55% and Advent International owning 19 percent. In April 2017, a private equity firm approached Party City to acquire it. In response, Party City placed itself on the market.[17]

Party City store in Fresno, California

In June 2018, Party City announced that it would open around 50 Toy City pop-up stores beginning in September 2018, alongside its Halloween City stores. The stores operated through the conclusion of the

Chapter 11 bankruptcy, weighed down by a confluence of factors including the COVID-19 pandemic and changing consumer behaviors.[23][24] The move was part of an attempt to restructure and reduce Party City's debt. Party City secured $150 million in financing to keep its stores open and operations running. Party City said that the move would help it complete an "expedited restructuring" to reduce its debt, which should be done by the second quarter of 2023. On September 6, 2023, Party City officially announced they had completed their bankruptcy reorganization after a US judge approved their bankruptcy plans. Party City was able to eliminate over $1 billion of debt during the reorganization. Most of its stores were expected to stay open until 2025; however, a handful of its 800 stores had permanently shuttered by the end of 2023, notably underperforming and less productive locations, and stores in underdeveloped and obsolete areas.[25]

Exterior of the Party Pity store on the last day of operation
Interior of the Party Pity store on the last day of operation
Exterior (top) and interior (bottom) of the Party City store on the last day of operation in West Los Angeles (March 27, 2025)

In December 2024, Party City warned that it would be preparing to file for bankruptcy for the second time in two years, as it was running out of cash to continue operating at several of its locations. Party City announced that it would close all of its corporate-owned US stores by February 28, 2025, as part of a winding-down procedure. Franchised locations not owned by Party City, as well as Canadian locations, will remain open, the latter of which is currently owned by Canadian Tire.[26][27][28]

On December 24, 2024, Party City reported that Mitch Modell, former CEO of Modell's Sporting Goods, was looking to buy Party City in an effort to save thousands of jobs. Modell planned to release financing sheets by the end of that week, but nothing further has been announced as of January 2025.[29] Party City auctioned off leases for nearly 700 store locations across 45 states. By early 2025, these auctions had generated around $14.5 million. Among the top bidders for these store leases were Dollar Tree, which secured 150 leases, and Five Below, which acquired 40. Other participants in the bidding included Barnes & Noble, La-Z-Boy, and Rack Room Shoes. In addition to the physical assets, the intellectual property and wholesale business operations of Party City were sold to an affiliate of Ad Populum for $20 million. Ad Populum, known for products like the Chia Pet and The Clapper, now holds the rights to continue Party City's tradition in party goods manufacturing under the newly formed company New Amscan.[30]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "FORM S-1/A (Securities Registration Statement)" (PDF). Party City Investor Relations. Party City Holdco Inc. 10 April 2015. pp. 19–20. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  2. ^ "Party City Holdings Inc - Company Profile and News". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2023-12-29.
  3. ^ Redmond, Kimberly (2022-10-07). "Party City celebrates opening of new Woodcliff Lake HQ (updated)". NJBIZ. Retrieved 2023-12-29.
  4. ^ City, Party. "Online Party Store with over 850 Store Locations". Party City. Retrieved 2023-12-29.
  5. ^ Ma, Dorothy (December 21, 2024). "Party City Files for Bankruptcy a 2nd Time in Retail Déjà Vu". Bloomberg. Retrieved December 21, 2024.
  6. ^ "Party City files for bankruptcy, a day after announcing mass layoffs at its headquarters - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. 2024-12-21. Retrieved 2024-12-22.
  7. ^ Murphy, Aislinn (2024-12-20). "Party City going out of business after 40 years". FOXBusiness. Retrieved 2024-12-20.
  8. ^ a b "Party City Corporation History". Funding Universe. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  9. ^ Clark, Patrick; Mosendz, Polly (2016-10-27). "How Halloween Stores Conquered America". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2019-02-13.
  10. ^ a b "Party City Holdings Inc. Press Kit" (PDF). Party City. January 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 March 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  11. ^ "Acquisition of Party City Corporation by AAH Holdings Completed". Press Releases. Amscan Holdings. Archived from the original on 17 April 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  12. ^ "Party America, a Leading Party Goods Retailer, Acquired by AAH Holdings Corporation". Press Releases. Amscan Holdings. Archived from the original on 17 April 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  13. ^ "Amscan Announces Strategic Alliance With American Greetings". Press Releases. Amscan Holdings. Archived from the original on 26 September 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  14. ^ Lefton, Terry (3 June 2012). "Party time". Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal. American City Business Journals. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  15. ^ "iParty agrees to be acquired by Party City". Boston.com. 2013-03-01. Retrieved 2019-01-27.
  16. ^ "Party City Acquires Party Galaxy". www.businesswire.com. 2017-12-19. Retrieved 2019-01-27.
  17. ^ a b Hirsch, Lauren (April 27, 2017). "U.S. retailer Party City explores sale -sources". Reuters. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
  18. ^ "Toy City pop-up stores will fill former Toys R Us, Babies R Us locations". NJ.com. 6 September 2018. Retrieved 2018-12-22.
  19. ^ "Party City joins the list of retailers feasting on Toys 'R' Us remains". Fortune. Retrieved 2018-07-13.
  20. ^ Thomas, Lauren (25 June 2018). "Party City to open Toy City stores in wake of Toys R Us' demise". CNBC. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  21. ^ "Party City CEO Says Closure of 45 Stores Is 'Completely Unrelated' to Helium Shortage". People.com. Retrieved 2019-05-11.
  22. ^ Rodriguez, Jeremiah (2019-08-08). "Canadian Tire buys up Party City for $174.4 million". CTV News. Retrieved 2019-08-08.
  23. ^ Jodi Xu Klein, Soma Biswas and Alexander Gladstone (6 January 2023). "Party City Plans Bankruptcy Filing Within Weeks". Walt Street Journal. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  24. ^ "Party City files for bankruptcy after pandemic recovery falters". Bloomberg. 2023-01-17. Retrieved 2023-01-18.
  25. ^ "The majority of Party City stores will stay open as it exits bankruptcy". CNN. September 7, 2023. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  26. ^ Lopez, Lucy (December 20, 2024). "Hawaii Party City stores to remain open despite national closures". KHON-TV. Retrieved December 26, 2024.
  27. ^ Saavedra, Ninfa (December 23, 2024). "'We are excited to continue the party': These 2 Houston-area Party City's will stay open despite corporate shutdown". KPRC-TV. Retrieved December 26, 2024.
  28. ^ Abbassi, Emmy; Valinsky, Jordan (December 20, 2024). "Party City is going out of business". CNN. Retrieved December 20, 2024.
  29. ^ "Mitch Modell looks to buy Party City, Big Lots". The Real Deal. December 24, 2024. Retrieved January 25, 2025.
  30. ^ III, Nate Delesline (2025-02-11). "Party City IP, wholesale operations to be acquired for $20M". Retail Dive. Retrieved 2025-02-13.
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