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Westchester-Based Party City To Close 45 Stores Amid Global Helium Shortage

The party is over for dozens of Party City locations, with the company announcing plans to shutter 45 stores amid a global helium shortage.

Party City is closing dozens of stores.

Party City is closing dozens of stores.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

The company is based in Westchester County in Elmsford with its headquarters in Rockaway, New Jersey.

In a statement, Party City CEO James Harrison said that closing stores is normal each year, but this year, it has chosen to close more locations than normal in 2019. The supplies company did not release a list of affected stores, but said they will take place throughout the year.

“Each year, Party City typically closes 10 to 15 stores as a part of our prudent network optimization process and in response to ongoing consumer, market and economic changes that naturally arise in the business,” he said.

“This year, after careful consideration and evaluation of our store fleet, we’ve made the decision to close more stores than usual in order to help optimize our market-level performance, focus on the most profitable locations and improve the overall health of our store portfolio.”

Despite the shortage, Party City has reportedly found a new source of helium that will alleviate the pressure of balloon sales that will help the company moving forward.

“Overall, our first quarter results were largely in line with our expectations on the top and bottom lines, inclusive of the helium shortage, which negatively impacted our latex and metallic balloon categories,” Harrison noted.

“Most importantly, we have signed a letter of agreement for a new source of helium which, subject to final execution of a definitive contract, would provide for additional quantities of helium beginning this summer and continuing for the next 2.5 years. 

"We believe this new source should substantially eliminate the shortfall we are experiencing at current allocation rates and improve our ability to return to a normal level of latex and metallic balloon sales.“

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