Party City sees no change for Bergen County HQ after seeking bankruptcy protection

Daniel Munoz, NorthJersey.com
·2 min read
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Party City doesn't expect its bankruptcy filing to impact workers at its Bergen County headquarters, where it employs up to 700 people, the company said in an email after announcing a deal with creditors.

The Woodcliff Lake-based chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Wednesday, as it struggles with rising prices and a pullback in consumer spending. It said its franchise stores, subsidiaries outside of the U.S. and its coveted foil balloons business, Anagram, will not be part of its restructuring.

“We do not anticipate any changes for our team members at our corporate headquarters as a result of the filing,” the company said in a statement emailed to The Record and NorthJersey.com.

A shopper leaves a Party City store in Vernon Hills, Ill., Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020. Party City Holdco Inc. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2023 as the party supply chain confronts inflationary pressures and a pullback in consumer spending. The party supplies chain, which operates more than 800 company-owned and franchise stores throughout North America, has been long struggling with increased competition from the likes of Walmart and Target.

The company said in November that it planned to cut almost a fifth of its worldwide workforce, after disappointing holiday season sales. A spokesperson at the time declined to say how many layoffs, if any, might come at the Bergen County office.

In a news release Wednesday, Party City said it had asked a bankruptcy court to allow it to "maintain business-as-usual operations" as it works through a planned restructuring. It expects "to continue to pay wages and provide benefits to the company's employees as usual."

If approved, Chapter 11 protection would allow Party City to stay in business while it pays off its debts. The company said it had worked out a deal with creditors to provide $150 million in financing that "will provide ample liquidity to support continued operations."

More: NJ promised Party City $10M in tax breaks to move to Bergen County. Now it's cutting jobs

More than 800 company-owned and franchise stores in North America will remain open, Party City said, and customers can still shop on the company website.

In 2021, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority awarded $10 million in tax breaks to entice Party City to move its headquarters to Tice Boulevard in Woodcliff Lake, rather than to White Plains, New York. The move consolidated jobs formerly in New York and Rockaway in Morris County. Party City said it would relocate as many as 700 jobs to Bergen County, a move celebrated by state and local officials.

In November, state EDA CEO Tim Sullivan said payment of the tax breaks would be contingent on the company proving it had created the jobs as promised.

“They haven’t gotten a penny yet,” Sullivan said at the time.

Daniel Munoz covers business, consumer affairs, labor and the economy for NorthJersey.com and The Record. 

Email: munozd@northjersey.com; Twitter: @danielmunoz100

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Party City: Chapter 11 won't impact Bergen County NJ headquarters