Party City has graduated out of bankruptcy, just in time to help folks prepare for their own family graduation parties.
The company, which filed bankruptcy twice (in 2023 and 2024), is now operating in more than 700 Staples stores across the United States, according to an April 21 news release. Shoppers can find Party City on Staples.com, and more Staples locations are expected to add Party City stores by the end of the year.
The partnership means you can find party decorations and costumes, as well as get signs, invitations and printed banners, all in one location. “We see this Party City partnership as a really great complement to our print services business and that’s kind of where the spark came,” Marshall Warkentin, president of Staples U.S. retail, told USA TODAY.
Balloons are “a nice offering to go along with what we print,” Warkentin said, while party favors for birthdays, graduations and other celebrations supplement Staples’ annual back-to-school traffic.
Some Staples stores began adding Party City locations in August, but the nationwide partnership becomes official just ahead of graduation season, which spurred an estimated $6.8 billion in graduation-related spending last year, according to the National Retail Federation.
Party City Stores Within Staples Will ‘Continue to Grow’
With Party City’s licensing deals, shoppers can now get party supplies, banners, signs and invitations featuring popular Disney and Marvel characters, Warkentin said.
Beyond balloons, “you can build a Spider-Man invitation and customize that with Johnny’s name on it and then you could have a customized banner to go in the house with Spider-Man on that,” he said.
Warkentin expects more Staples locations — there are about 900 total — to add Party City stores. “We’re confident that the program is going to continue to grow,” he said. To find a Party City store within a Staples store, go to Staples.com.
Party City’s Road Back from Bankruptcy
Party City was among many retailers hit with closures and bankruptcies in 2024 and 2025, alongside companies like Macy’s, Kroger and Walgreens, which have continued closures into 2026.
Ad Populum acquired Party City in February 2025, adding to its pop-culture brand portfolio, which includes costume companies Rubies and Smiffys. The acquisition followed Party City’s second bankruptcy in December 2024 — it had emerged from a January 2023 filing in October 2023 — and the eventual closure of about 700 corporate-owned Party City locations. More than two dozen franchise-owned locations remained open.
Staples is owned by private equity firm Sycamore Partners, which in 2025 also acquired Walgreens Boots Alliance and owns the KnitWell Group, an apparel company that includes Chico’s, Ann Taylor, Loft, Talbots and White House Black Market.
Feedback from customers has been positive, Warkentin said. “What customers are saying to us is, ‘I’m so happy that I can go find my Party City again’ and ‘It really makes sense that it’s in Staples,’” he said.
Party City and Staples Deals Timed to Graduations
As part of the new partnership, you can take advantage of these deals, available in stores and online:
- $5 off party supply purchases of $25 or more (through May 2)
- Buy 2, get 1 free foil balloons (through June 16)
- 40% off custom cards, invitations, banners, posters, yard signs, wrapping paper and photo gifts (through June 13)
Editor’s note: Party City will not be selling customized Star Wars-themed merchandise as the company does not have licensing rights for the brand.
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