The first Party City store opened by Steve Mandell in East Hanover, NJ, in 1986. The company expanded through franchising, with the first franchised store opening in Hazlet, NJ in 1988.
During the 1990’s Party City expanded to become a nationwide chain. Sales reached $1 billion in 2004.
Amscan Holdings bought Party City in 2005. Amscan bought Factory Card & Party Outlet in 2007. Subsequently, both retail chains began to operate under the Party City name, which made the chain the largest party supplies retailer in the United States.
Today Party City has more than 850 company-owned and franchised locations and 400 Halloween-themed stores.
In early 2014 Party City filed an IPO, hoping to raise $500 million.
The company went public on the NYSE in 2014 and can be found under the ticker symbol: PRTY
Party City plans on operating pop-up stores called Toy City and Halloween City, trying to pick up sales after the closing of Toys R Us stores.
Company stock fell more than 15 percent after a worse than expected 3rd quarter earnings report in February 2019.
Headquarters for Party City are located in Elmsford, New York. As of 2015, the company reported more than 900 locations and annual revenue of $2.27 billion.
