Party City’s reported figures show a party-supply retailer managing a large store network through changing sales, substantial debt, and major restructuring. Retail net sales were $1.724 billion in 2022, while the company later announced that it was winding down operations at approximately 700 stores nationwide in December 2024. The figures below identify the measurement period and the named Party City source for each statistic.
Contents
- Sales and revenue
- Store network and temporary locations
- Liquidity, borrowings, and debt
- Third-quarter 2022 performance
- Cash flow and annual guidance
- Store openings, closures, and leases
- Bankruptcy and the later wind-down
Sales and revenue
Party City Stores generated $1,724,044,000 in retail net sales in 2022. The same measure was $1,734,261,000 in 2021 and $1,374,680,000 in 2020. These figures come from the [Party City 2022 Form 10-K, R49]. They describe retail net sales for Party City Stores, rather than the broader total retail revenue line.
The annual comparison is compactly summarized below.
| Measure | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Party City Stores retail net sales | $1,374,680,000 | $1,734,261,000 | $1,724,044,000 |
| Temporary-store retail net sales | $7,645,000 | $35,726,000 | $51,582,000 |
| Total retail revenues | Not reported in the supplied annual figures | $1,769,987,000 | $1,775,626,000 |
Temporary stores generated $51,582,000 in retail net sales in 2022, compared with $35,726,000 in 2021 and $7,645,000 in 2020. Those temporary-store figures and the total retail revenue figures are also reported in the [Party City 2022 Form 10-K, R49]. Total retail revenues were $1,775,626,000 in 2022 and $1,769,987,000 in 2021.
The source labels matter because the measures cover different parts of the business. “Party City Stores” retail net sales and “temporary stores” retail net sales are separate lines, while total retail revenues are a broader reported measure. The 2020 annual table above therefore leaves total retail revenues blank rather than treating a different sales line as an equivalent figure.
For a shorter trading-period view, fiscal October 2022 total revenue was $419.4 million, according to the [Party City Q3 2022 update]. The same update said fiscal October 2022 total revenue was 1.1% above the same period in the prior year. Fiscal October 2022 retail revenue increased approximately 3.9% year over year, while brand comparable sales were down 0.1%.
Store network and temporary locations
The company operated 761 total Party City locations in October 2022, compared with 754 total Party City locations in October 2021. The [Party City Q3 2022 update] also reported 149 Halloween City temporary stores in October 2022, up from 90 in October 2021.
The temporary-store count is distinct from the total Party City location count. Halloween City locations were seasonal temporary stores, while the total Party City location figure described the company’s total Party City locations for the stated October measurement point. Keeping those categories separate avoids presenting a seasonal-store count as a permanent-network count.
The [Party City 2021 Form 10-K] said Party City held approximately 830 specialty retail party supply stores in 2021. That figure uses a different description and source period from the October 2021 count, so it should be read as a separate company-reported network statistic rather than silently substituted for it.
The store network also changed over the 2020 period. The [Party City 2020 Form 10-K] reported that the company-owned store network opened 777 stores at the beginning of 2020 and ended 2020 with 746 stores. It also reported that the company-owned network closed and sold 42 stores in 2020. The same filing reported 98 franchise-owned stores at the beginning of 2020 and 98 franchise-owned stores at the end of 2020.
Liquidity, borrowings, and debt
At September 30, 2022, Party City reported total liquidity of $121.538 million and cash of $29.810 million. The company’s ABL borrowing base was $576.538 million, with $39.820 million of letters of credit outstanding and $444.990 million of borrowings under the ABL facility. Total ABL availability was $91.728 million. These figures are from the [Party City Q3 2022 update].
The weighted average interest rate on ABL borrowings was 4.76% at September 30, 2022. Total debt was $1.697 billion, and total debt net of cash was $1.667 billion. The difference between those two reported measures is presented as a source-reported distinction; no additional calculation is needed to interpret the figures.
The reported debt instruments included the following principal amounts at September 30, 2022:
- The 8.75% senior secured first lien notes due 2026 had a principal amount of $750.000 million.
- The 6.125% senior notes due 2023 had a principal amount of $22.924 million.
- The 6.625% senior notes due 2026 had a principal amount of $92.254 million.
- First lien Party City notes due 2025 had a principal amount of $161.669 million.
- First lien Anagram notes due 2025 had a principal amount of $118.699 million.
- Second lien Anagram notes due 2026 had a principal amount of $93.613 million.
- Finance lease obligations were $11.724 million.
All of these debt and financing figures were reported in the [Party City Q3 2022 update]. The maturities and instrument names are retained because the due dates are part of the context for each principal amount.
Third-quarter 2022 performance
Party City reported a GAAP net loss of $373.0 million in the third quarter of 2022, with a reported GAAP net loss per diluted share of $3.29. Adjusted net loss was $157.2 million, and adjusted net loss per diluted share was $1.39. The company reported adjusted EBITDA of $2.4 million for the quarter. These figures are from the [Party City Q3 2022 update].
Adjusted EBITDA fell by $40.0 million versus the third quarter of 2021. Interest expense was $26.9 million in the third quarter of 2022, compared with $23.9 million in the third quarter of 2021. The comparison uses the periods identified in the company update and does not extend beyond those reported measures.
The company also recorded a pre-tax goodwill impairment charge of $133 million in the third quarter of 2022. It reversed a $174 million tax benefit in that quarter. Those two items help explain why the reported GAAP result and adjusted result are different presentations, but they should not be combined into a new earnings measure without additional accounting detail.
Cash flow and annual guidance
Net cash used in operating activities in the first nine months of 2022 was $286.4 million, according to the [Party City Q3 2022 update]. For the first nine months of 2021, net cash used in operating activities was $73.6 million. Both statistics refer to the first nine months of the stated year, not to a full fiscal year.
For full-year 2022, the company issued net sales guidance of $2.140 billion to $2.190 billion. It said full-year 2022 net sales would be about -1% to +1% versus 2021. These were forward-looking estimates in the [Party City Q3 2022 update], not final reported full-year results. The guidance range should therefore be kept separate from the historical retail net sales and revenue figures above.
The same company update reported the March 2020 financial position and planned store actions. Cash was $194.4 million at March 31, 2020, debt net of cash was $1.760 billion, and ABL availability was approximately $71 million. Party City accessed an additional $150 million from its $640 million revolving credit facility on March 27, 2020. These are point-in-time figures from the [Party City Q1 2020 update].
That update also gave planned 2020 capital expenditures of approximately $35 million to $40 million. Because this was a plan, it is not presented as spending ultimately completed.
Store openings, closures, and leases
Party City identified approximately 55 Party City stores for closure in its 2019 store optimization program, according to the [Party City Q1 2020 update]. It identified 21 additional Party City stores for closure in 2020 and planned to close approximately 21 stores in 2020 while opening 2 new stores. The same update said Party City closed approximately 55 Party City stores in 2019 under the store optimization program.
The [Party City Q4 2019 update] reported that Party City closed 35 locations in the fourth quarter of 2019 as part of the store optimization program and recorded $3.2 million of charges tied to that program in the fourth quarter of 2019. The 35-location fourth-quarter figure is a subset of a specific quarter, while the approximately 55-store figure covers the broader 2019 optimization program as described by the Q1 2020 update.
At December 31, 2021, 27 leases for company-owned stores were due to expire in 2022, according to the [Party City 2021 Form 10-K]. Lease expirations are not the same as confirmed store closures, so the figure is retained as a lease-timing statistic rather than converted into a closure count.
Bankruptcy and the later wind-down
Party City filed Chapter 11 on January 17, 2023, according to the [Party City SEC filing, Chapter 11 notice]. In September 2023, the company said its plan would reduce debt by nearly $1 billion. That debt-reduction statement was a company statement from the [Party City September 6, 2023 press release] and is not recast here as an independently verified outcome.
The company said in September 2023 that it operated approximately 800 company-operated and franchise specialty retail stores. This statement was attributed to the [Party City 2022 Form 10-K and September 2023 release]. It uses an approximate combined company-operated and franchise description, so it is not merged with the October 2022 Party City location count or the separate Halloween City temporary-store count.
On December 21, 2024, Party City announced that it was winding down operations at approximately 700 stores nationwide. The company also said in December 2024 that it had served customers for nearly 40 years. Both statements come from the [Party City December 21, 2024 press release]. The approximately 700-store figure describes the announced wind-down, not a historical store count from 2022 or a forecast of future locations.