On Friday afternoon, CNN reported that Party City is closing all its US stores after four decades of operation.
The retail chain has hundreds of locations in the country.
Party City CEO Barry Litwin reportedly told workers that operations would begin winding down on Friday in an emotional goodbye message. It would be their last day of work, and they would not receive severance pay or benefits.
Smack in the middle of the holiday season, Canadian fans of the store began wondering if this meant operations would also end in the True North. However, that isn’t in the cards, thanks to something that happened five years ago.
Party City is operated and owned by a different company in Canada. In 2019, the Canadian Tire Corporation announced it was purchasing the retailer’s Canadian businesses for $174.4 million, including $40 million in inventory. There were 65 locations in seven provinces at the time, and a few more have been added since.
In Canada will still have Toys R us and Party City. Maybe america should become our 11th province 😉
— Mike (@m_e_f1) December 20, 2024
“The operations of Party City in Canada are entirely separate from Party City Holdco in the US,” a Canadian Tire spokesperson confirmed to Daily Hive.
“Party City Canada remains open for business online and in-store and will continue to provide Canadians with everything they need to celebrate all their life moments.”
Not only are all the stores open in Canada, but tons of items are also tax-free because of the tax holiday.
Read more about what’s covered in the tax holiday here.