Party City collaborates with Instacart for same-day delivery
Party City announced it is rolling out Instacart same-day delivery at more than 700 locations across the country, which can deliver party goods in as fast as an hour.
The two companies — Party City based in Woodcliff Lake and Instacart based in San Francisco — are offering a “wide assortment” of party goods yhrough the service, from decorations to seasonal-themed tableware, balloons, party favors and costumes. Party City has 25 stores across New Jersey.
Monday’s announcement comes months after Party City emerged from bankruptcy last year, having tapped former Globe Industrial Company CEO Barry Litwin as its chief executive officer.
As part of the bankruptcy plan, Party City saw its debt reduced by $1 billion and equity shares turned over to the retailer’s lenders. The previous CEO, Brad Weston, left as well, and Party City had to close several of its underperforming stores.
Post-bankruptcy life for Party City
“Same-day delivery means the platform’s users can get what they need without missing a beat of the celebration, for everything from last-minute Halloween party decorations to extra balloons for their child’s birthday,” Party City’s chief marketing officer, Shannon Symalla, said in a statement.
In March, Party City said it was introducing a new store format that would allow the chain to test its new product assortments, which include party favors, toys and balloons.
“With this introduction, we have moved away from the traditional aisle experience and have developed two birthday worlds within each store,” Dion Miliaresis, Party City’s vice president of merchandising, explained at the time.
Miliaresis said that Party City developed “birthday worlds” in each store — one for kids’ birthdays and another for general birthday celebrations — that “make it easy for the customer to find everything they need” and discover new products.
Then in September, Party City said it was marking down prices on more than 2,000 items by an average of 20%.
“Consumers continue to feel pressure on their budgets in an environment of uncertainty, sometimes making joyous occasions feel stressful due to affordability,” said Litwin, the new CEO.
Earlier this month, several former Party City employees filed a class action lawsuit against the company over September layoffs, alleging that they were not given the legally required notice when their positions were abruptly terminated.
Daniel Munoz covers business, consumer affairs, labor and the economy for NorthJersey.com and The Record.
Email: [email protected]; Twitter:@danielmunoz100 and Facebook
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