In this episode of Retail Archaeology we take a look at Party City for probably the last time.Erik's observations about private equity remind me of what I wrote in Company Man asks 'The Decline of Party City...What Happened?' A tale of the Retail Apocalypse.
I've mentioned the role of private equity in the failure of retail chains many times before, most recently in 'Bankrupt - 99 Cents Only Stores' by Bright Sun Films, a tale of the Retail Apocalypse. It took more than a decade, but the debt from the leveraged buyout finally caught up with Party City.Erik also mentioned "the helium shortage increasing the prices of balloons and decreasing their sales." That reminds me of the footnote from earlier this month: "As I wrote about the helium shortage two years ago, 'That's something I haven't blogged about but should.'"
By the way, Erik's remark about American Smarties confusing his Canadian viewers refers to Canadian Smarties being different from American Smarties. In Canada, the candies called Smarties in the U.S. are called Rockets, while Canadian Smarties have no exact analog in the U.S.
I think I may have learned this while I was dating my ex-girlfriend when she was living in Canada, but it's been nearly 20 years since then and I have forgotten it. Speaking of which, I'm glad to hear that Canada's Party City stores are owned by Canadian Tire, one of the chains we shopped at, and will remain open.
This may be the last time I blog about Party City until I run into reports of its last company-owned closing next month (the ones owned by franchisees will keep their doors open — for now) or Bright Sun Films uploads a video about the chain as part of his Bankrupt series. That may take a while, especially since he's Canadian and his country's Party City stores will remain open.
In the meantime, stay tuned for this year's Razzie nominations. The Golden Raspberry Awards' poor math skills strike again!
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