Party City to close every store
Party City is closing down all of its stores, ending nearly 40 years in business, according to CNN’s reporting.
CEO Barry Litwin told employees in corporate roles Friday in a meeting viewed by CNN that Party City is “winding down” operations immediately and that Friday would be their last day of employment.
“That is without question the most difficult message that I’ve ever had to deliver,” CNN reported Litwin said at the meeting, which was held on a video conference call.
Party City’s “very best efforts have not been enough to overcome” its financial challenges, he added, resulting in the company’s collapse. Litwin said the company struggled to contend with inflation, which sent the company’s costs higher and dragged down consumer spending.
“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, according to CNN. “Unfortunately, it’s necessary to commence a winddown process immediately.”
Party City is the largest party supply store in the United States. The company had about 6,400 full-time and 10,100 part-time workers as of 2021. The chain had a retail store in Loyalsock Township, with others in State College, Harrisburg and Mechanicsburg.