Popular retail chain Party City filed for bankruptcy protection on Saturday, a day after disclosing to employees that it would implement mass layoffs at its New Jersey headquarters.
The filing was made in bankruptcy court in the Southern District of Texas, according to court documents obtained by CBS News. According to the filing, the company had liabilities of between $1 billion and $10 billion.
On Friday, Party City Chief Human Resources Officer Karen McGowan informed employees An email obtained by CBS News New York said it was immediately conducting “mass layoffs” at its headquarters in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.
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cnn informed On Friday, Party City CEO Barry Litvin told corporate employees at a meeting that the company was “ceasing down” operations. CNN said some store employees also received letters on Friday saying all of the chain's stores would close in February.
Party City, which specializes in party supplies and was founded in the mid-1980s, has more than 700 company-owned and franchised store locations throughout North America, according to its website. It also has an e-commerce operation which it manages through Partycity.com. It is not clear whether the online branch will continue or not.
Party City did not respond to a request for comment when contacted by CBS News New York on Friday.
2024 It's been a tough year For US retailers. More than 7,100 stores closed by the end of November 2024, a 69% increase from the same period last year, according to data from research firm Coresight.
Contributed to this report.