Party is over for 'Party City' which is reportedly going out of business

The party is over at Party City, according to CNN, which reported on Friday that the party supplies retailer plans to shutter its more than 700 stores nationwide at the end of February. More than a dozen of the company's stores are located in the Bay Area. 

"I’m really bummed. That’s a shocker," said customer Ashwin, who was shopping for his 3-year-old son's birthday at a Party City in Fremont when he learned the deflating news. "I hope they change their mind."    

According to Fox Business, only 29 franchise stores will remain open nationwide. 

The New Jersey-based company, which opened nearly 40 years ago, reportedly plans to begin a "winding down" process immediately. 

The CEO of Party City, Barry Litwin, reportedly delivered the news to corporate employees during a conference call on Friday. 

In that call, CNN says employees were told they would not receive severance. Litwin reportedly said the company had "done everything possible that we could to try to avoid this outcome." The CEO apparently blamed the closure on financial challenges in part created by company debt and inflation.

"I was surprised when I walked in here that there [were] not many aisles of anything," said customer Quita Craft of Union City.

The news comes 14 months after the company exited bankruptcy. Some customers felt the decision was just a sign of the times as consumer preferences continue to shift online.

"Everything is online. You don’t get to touch and feel in person. It’s more distant, and I think that’s the way things are going, and that’s why you see retail closing," said Craft.

KTVU has reached out to Party City for comment on the company's impending closure, but did not hear back in time for this report.