Party City CEO Barry Litwin told corporate employees Friday that the company was “winding down” operations immediately and that today would be their last day of employment, CNN reported
I guess all the former Party Citys can become Spirit Halloweens sometimes?
The brand always seemed kind of silly to me. I’m sure the margins are good on their items, but most people will think to go to a retail store instead of a specialized party store. Target and Walmart both sell food and alcohol in my state, so I can stop there and get everything I need for the actual party…
They had a fantastic selection of balloons. You could easily set up gift bags with unusual and fun kitch, They were an absolute mecca for young child birthday parties. Somebody graduating, somebody throwing a baby shower, you can’t really find a lot of the stuff they had there locally and definitely not in the selection they had.
Of course, all their shit is still available because in the end it’s all Chinese trash that you can get from Alibaba or temu for 1/10 of the price, But you can’t just go across town and get it now, you need to plan a few days in advance. Even finding a place that uses real helium to inflate a balloon is getting kind of rare.
It provided jobs and expertise in good times, before the Walmarts and Targets and then Amazons merely offered cheap.
Like so many things, it was better when there were stores for everything that had to charge more but employed more, tended to have better quality, better sourced products, and provided actual service, but the short term pied piper of “get it for $6 instead of $14” fucked us all in the long run, we murdered main street and made our own communities worse to save a buck today. Now the jobs that are left suck more, the prices suck from lack of competition, and we need only look in the mirror to see who enabled their con.
At least in the whole being a society and not a bunch of rugged individuals in a race to hell sense.
Not that party city or any specialized retailer has been a quality source for products or expertise in a long time. From Bed Bath and Beyond to Toys R US, specialized retailers are just zombie chains clinging to a societally better economy and culture that died decades ago, forced to abandon service and quality to limp along for another fiscal year until they cease to exist so Walmart can then jack up the prices for their party supplies now that there’s no competition to kneecap for same day balloons.
I got confused and read it like you went to Party City for food and alcohol.
Like damn, all my Party City had was balloons, plastic silverware, and costumes. I mean you can probably get drugs from the stoned kid working there, but not every store.
I genuinely seek out speciality stores whenever possible. The selection and quality at Target/Walmart is… forgettable.
What kind of savage has a party without balloons?