Inside the last days of Party City

CNN —

On the Sunday after Thanksgiving 2024, six members of Party City’s product development and sourcing teams left New Jersey for their annual trip to mainland China to meet with the company’s suppliers, who make practically everything the party store sells – from the mylar balloons at the front of the store to the aisles upon aisles of birthday, graduation and Halloween party decorations at the back.

Like every year, the trip was scheduled to last 12 days. In 2024, it lasted just two days.

CNN spoke to multiple people who were sent on the trip and who requested anonymity for fear of retribution or reputational damage. They said that on Wednesday, December 4, Party City’s management advised its American team in China – who had just arrived on Monday – to catch the next available flight home. Party City hadn’t paid its vendors in full. It was about to go bankrupt again, and in just a matter of weeks, it would announce plans to liquidate its entire business.

“I know you are both aware of the supplier pressure we’re facing,” a senior leader in the United States wrote in an email on December 4 to a team member visiting China.

“In light of our purchase plans being re-evaluated, I raised the topic at an ELT (Executive Leadership Team) meeting this morning, and we think it’s appropriate for you to cut your trip short. To that end, feel free to change everyone’s return flights to Thursday or Friday, whichever is more convenient for you.”

The team was stunned and demanded answers – which they said were not forthcoming. They left for Hong Kong Thursday and flew back to the United States the next day.

Party City, its liquidator and its legal representatives did not respond to requests for comment. The company’s corporate