Party City, which has carried games as part of its merchandise selection, has announced that it will close all of its retail and wholesale operations, including around 700 stores, by the end of February.  "[M]acroeconomic headwinds more recently proved too severe for the Company to overcome," the company said in announcing the shutdown, citing "an immensely challenging environment driven by inflationary pressures on costs and consumer spending."

The chain, which was operating over 800 stores in the U.S. at the time, was under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection when we visited early last year (see “Channel Check – Party City”).  While it exited Chapter 11 this August with roughly $1 billion of its debts eliminated by the process, Party City was unable to recover.

The company has filed a Chapter 11 petition again, "to accomplish an orderly wind down in the most efficient manner and to maximize value for the benefit of the Company’s stakeholders," but it will likely be converted to a Chapter 7 filing at some point.  The company’s senior lenders are on board to provide support for the coming months, and over 95% of the 12,000 employees will be retained for some time to handle the wind down, the company said.