History
Party City opened its first store in East Hanover, NJ in 1986 with the goal of creating a one-stop party supply shop. After two years of operation, Party City opened its first franchise store in Hazlet, NJ in 1989. Party City expanded beyond the Northeast in 1992 and opened stores in Georgia and Tennessee. Shortly thereafter, Party City became a nationwide chain with store locations ranging from Hawaii to Puerto Rico. Through acquisitions, partnerships and expansion, Party City’s sales reached the one-billon dollar mark in 2004.
In 2005, the company was sold to Amscan Holdings, Inc., the largest designer, manufacturer and distributor of party goods in America. Amscan then went on to acquire the party retailers Party America in 2006 and Factory Card & Party Outlet in 2007. Both retail chains began to operate under the Party City network, thereby making Party City the largest party supplies retailer in the United States.
In 2009, Party City launched an e-commerce website at PartyCity.com and added in 2011 a “Party Ideas” Center containing shopping checklists, photo galleries and video tutorials.
Party City currently operates nearly 800 stores nationwide, including several 12,000 square-foot mega stores. In 2011, Party City expanded outside the United States with the acquisition of the Canadian retailer Party Packagers, making Party City the largest party goods retailer in North America. In 2012, these stores began to re-brand as Party City.
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