Philadelphia-based discount chain Five Below, along with Dollar Tree, acquired 148 former Party City locations as the party supply store — as part of its ongoing bankruptcy process — auctioned off 250 locations earlier this month, write Retail Brew and Alex Vuocolo for Fortune.
The two competitors successfully bid on a combined 148 leases. The remainder of the leases were snatched up by other off-price retailers, including Rack Room Shoes, Books-A-Million, and Burlington Stores. Specialty retailers also made winning bids on several locations, including Barnes & Noble and La-Z-Boy.
The auction took place before Party City’s intellectual property and wholesale operations were sold to New Amscan, an affiliate of Ad Populum, for $20 million last week.
Despite the closure of Party City locations, which some see as another sign of a “retail apocalypse,” the bidding process is countering this by showcasing the strength of the sector.
“We’ve seen the uptick in closures and bankruptcies, but the flip side we’ve seen that really strong demand to backfill that space, at least where it’s well-located and not cannibalizing the existing footprint of retailers,” said Brandon Svec, national director of US retail analytics at CoStar.
Read more about Party City’s bankruptcy proceedings and the purchases by Five Below and other in Fortune.
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Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on PHILADELPHIA Today in February 2025.
