(Reuters) -Party City Holdco Inc filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday, casting doubts on the retailer’s future, as it grapples with dampening sales due to inflation and higher operating costs.
The Rockaway, New Jersey-based party supplies retailer reported $1 billion to $10 billion of both estimated assets and liabilities, and said it had obtained $150 million in debtor-in-possession financing to support its operations.
Party City subsidiaries outside of the U.S., its Party City franchise stores, and its Anagram business were not part of the bankruptcy proceedings, the company said.
It expected restructuring to be completed in the second quarter of this year and said its stores would remain open while the company navigates through the bankruptcy process.
The company, which was valued at over $2 billion when it went public in April 2015, has seen sales declining after a shift in consumer spending from discretionary products to basic essentials due to stubbornly high inflation.
The retailer’s fortunes have dwindled since the COVID-19 pandemic as it wrestled with slowing sales due to lockdowns and store closures, along with inventory shortages and tight helium supplies due to global supply chain disruptions.
The company also battled higher freight, labor and raw materials costs as it pulled forward shipping timelines to ensure enough products on its shelves.
(Reporting by Granth Vanaik and Jyoti Narayan in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Nivedita Bhattacharjee)
