Party City bounces back this Halloween

Party City’s sales during the 2012 Halloween season were adversely impacted by an estimated $10 million as a result of Super Storm Sandy, but the specialty retailer bounced back this year with retail sales totaling $395 million, up 10.6% from the same period last year.



The company's retail banners include Party City (which, in turn, includes the company's Canadian locations and recently acquired and rebranded iParty stores), Halloween City, Party City.com and Party Delights.



During the five-week Halloween season ended Nov. 2, the Party City brand (including domestic e-commerce sales and all permanent stores operated by Party City during both the 2013 and 2012 Halloween seasons) experienced a 7.1% comp sales increase.



The iParty stores, which were acquired and rebranded to Party City in 2013, experienced a 29.9% comp sales increase over the former iParty stores' 2012 sales, principally due to the re-branding and re-merchandising of the stores to the Party City format. The company’s pro forma comp sales, which aggregate the sales for the Party City brand and rebranded former iParty stores, increased 8.3% over 2012.



The domestic e–commerce sales included in the company’s brand comp increased by 5.4% compared to the 2012 Halloween selling season. E–commerce sales in 2012 were not meaningfully impacted by Super Storm Sandy. Average sales per temporary Halloween City store increased by 3% compared to the average during the 2012 five-week Halloween selling season.



During this year’s Halloween season, the company operated 665 Party City stores (including 54 former iParty locations), as compared to 594 Party City stores in 2012. In addition to its network of permanent stores, the company operated 350 temporary Halloween stores (including Canadian locations) in 2013, as compared to 421 in 2012.