The party is over at Party City, once the largest supplier of balloons and other fun-time supplies in the US, as the company announced Friday it was closing down all of its stores, ending nearly 40 years in business.
Barry Litwin, the Party City CEO, told employees that the chain was “winding down” operations immediately and that today would be their last day of employment.
Staff were told they would not receive severance pay, and they were told their benefits would end as the company goes out of business, CNN reported.
Litwin said the company’s “very best efforts have not been enough to overcome” its financial challenges that had included inflation that had contributed to higher costs and dragged on consumer spending.