Beloved retailer and Michaels rival to close nine more stores amid bankruptcy fears see the full list of… – The US Sun

PARTY City has announced the closures of nine additional store locations.

The beloved event supply store filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection at the start of the year and is undergoing restructuring processes.

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The filing allows a business to keep running while it works to restructure its debts and move forward.

As The U.S. Sun previously reported, at least 22 store locations around the US were closed due to Party City's filing, and now the retailer will be shutting the doors on nine more.

On April 20, Party City issued a statement explaining that nine leases to buildings that housed their stores would be auctioned off, per MSN.

A&G Real Estate Partners, the company that will auction the leases on behalf of Party City, noted that the stores would be sold by Friday.

Residents in several states will be affected by the additional closures.

Three locations in California are said to be closing, with two more in New York.

One Party City per state in Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, and Oklahoma will also shut down.

Along with another closing in New Jersey, the retailer will close 31 stores in total, per North Jersey.

The Michaels competitor usually operates 26 locations in New Jersey, according to its website, and 823 locations across the US.

In January, there were only 770 locations nationwide.

Subsidiaries outside the country and franchise stores are not part of the restructuring, along with Party City's foil balloons business.

The retailer's restructuring and bankruptcy filing occurred due to reported struggles during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

With social distancing in place, customers weren't gathering together for parties as often.

Supply chain issues and merchandise hiccups didn't help things, either.

Not to mention, helium has been in short supply making several factors the culprits to Party City's closings, perReuters.

High costs of products from inflation and increased labor costs paired with lower sales also put Party City in a difficult position.

The company had more than 16,000 full-time and part-time employees in 2021.

It's unclear if those employees at the closing locations will be offered an option to transfer to other store locations.

Either way, liquidation sales have begun for several of the closing Party City stores.

Pictures obtained by the radio station 1240WJIM-AM showed empty shelves at a closing store in Detroit as bosses tried to eliminate all store stock.

Shoppers may get deals and discounts as high as 90 percent off some products.

These liquidation sales have likely begun at the nine new Party City locations announced to close as well.

Party City isn't alone in its bankruptcy filing amid what financial experts have dubbed the "retail apocalypse."

Bed Bath & Beyond recentlyfiled for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after attempting to raise enough capital to avoid doing so.

Since the announcement, bumper sales started, and some products are being sold for 80 percent off at varying locations.

The company will now begin winding down operations at its 360 stores.

For related content, check out The U.S. Sun's coverage on why analysts at the investment bank UBS warned earlier this month that up to90,000 stores could close in the next five years.

The U.S. Sun also has the story of how Walmart will be closing more stores in a major shakeup.

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Beloved retailer and Michaels rival to close nine more stores amid bankruptcy fears see the full list of... - The US Sun