Party City not letting weak quarter derail store expansion

New York -- Party City isn’t celebrating its second quarter. But it remains on track to open 30 new stores for 2015 and complete 50-60 remodels and relocations.



The party supply retailer reported a loss for its second quarter traffic amid light traffic. But it as the retailer reported a loss.



In the second quarter ended June 30, Party posted a loss of $23 million, or 20 cents a share, compared with a profit of $2.5 million a year earlier



Same-store sales rose 1.2%, compared to analysts' forecasts for growth of 2.8%. Overall, sales edged to nearly 1% to $495.5 million in the quarter.



“Our overall business had a strong first half of 2015 and we’re on track to deliver on our goals this year,” said James M. Harrison, CEO. “In our retail business, we saw lighter traffic in the second quarter primarily due to the Easter shift into the first quarter, but our year-to-date brand comp totaled 3.1% in line with our full-year expectations.



“The consumable nature of our products and our unmatched product depth and breadth drives repeat visits by our customers who view us as the destination of choice for their party supply needs to celebrate life’s happy events like birthdays, milestones, holidays and seasons. We are also ahead of schedule for securing sites for our temporary Halloween City stores and expect to open roughly 325 locations this year.”



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