Party City Going Out of Business and Closing All New England Stores

Party City is going out of business, and it's closing all of its stores, including those in New England.

That includes Maine's two locations in South Portland and Bangor.

According to CNN, after nearly 40 years in business, Party City is closing all of its stores. Corporate employees were the first to be let go and all stores will be closed in February.

Why the sudden closing of all Party City locations?

Party City has been in trouble for a few years now. They filed for bankruptcy last year and although they came out of that, they could not overcome the difficulty of higher prices and people holding onto their money. The CEO Barry Litwin told employees in a video conference call,

It’s really important for you to know that we’ve done everything possible that we could to try to avoid this outcome. Unfortunately, it’s necessary to commence a winddown process immediately.

When are Maine Party City stores closing for good?

READ MORE: Here Are 25 Stores That Mainers Want to Come to Their Towns

There are more than 800 Party City stores. In the last two years, they closed down 80 locations including one in Augusta, Maine. The remaining stores will be closed by February 28, 2025. This decision happened very quickly and caught employees off guard because management hadn’t talked about being in financial trouble at any recent town hall meetings.

Beyond inflation, and people not spending their discretionary money on party favors, it's also about competition. Most things that Party City sold could be bought at Walmart, Costco, or other retailers for less money. I hope the employees affected by this in Maine will be able to find other jobs quickly.