Party City and BIG Lots File for Bankruptcy and Will Close its Doors Permanently

What’s happening in today’s world of business and bankruptcy? It’s not good news for two major corporations. Both BIG Lots and Party City are closing all of their store locations. I’ve written about both in my blog.

Updated on May 15, 2025.

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Party City is Closing All Store Locations

Let’s start with Party City. I think we’ve all been to Party City. If you have kids and you’re throwing a birthday party, you’ve probably gone there several times for supplies. I always ended up at Party City for Halloween costumes. But unfortunately, it seems their time is over. More than 700 locations are closing, leaving more than 12,000 employees unemployed.

BIG Lots is Closing All Store Locations

The other “big” one is Big Lots. They had a lifeline, it was believed, with Nexus Capital that would come in, buy them out, and take over, but it seems that deal isn’t going through. Unless another private equity firm can come in and bail them out, that will also be the end of Big Lots. BIG Lots will be shutting down 900 locations.

BIG Lots is another well-known store I visited when I relocated to Jacksonville. I was shopping for a temporary table or desk since I was driving regularly between Jacksonville and Miami at the time, since I had cases to close out. So with each return trip, I came back with more personal items.

Update: There’s always the concern of shopping malls becoming ghost towns. But the good news is that Aldi is buying those locations as the German discount grocery store is the third-largest grocery store chain in the country.

The Snowball Effect on Party City and BIG Lots

I keep referring to these bankruptcies as the snowball effect. If you add up Party City and BIG Lots store closures, more than 1,600 locations will be vacant. The landlords have to find another business to replace them, and that won’t be easy. But a lot of this keeps coming back to the issue of COVID-19.

I have repeatedly said that we are now feeling the financial effects of COVID-19 since it’s been four to five years. Businesses began to transition away from brick-and-mortar to online. Part of the snowball effect means we changed our shopping and work habits, ultimately affecting how businesses do business.  

I even believe consumer bankruptcies will continue to rise because debtors who defaulted on their credit cards or personal loans were not being sued during the coronavirus pandemic. Creditors knew it was pointless to sue someone not working. However, with the statute of limitations getting closer to expiring and creditors being prevented from filing lawsuits, they have to file their lawsuits soon.

This is similar to the 2008 mortgage foreclosure crisis and zombie mortgages. You can read about zombie mortgages via the link below.

• The Dangers of Zombie Mortgages: Are You at Risk?

Moving forward, I hope all these other businesses out there can adapt. If you’re a small business owner, figure out if you need to have an online presence or have more of one. If you’re seeing your numbers go down, figure it out. Run some numbers. Don’t be stagnant or get paralysis by analysis.

I’ve always compared life to water. Nothing is more powerful than water. It gives life to everything, but stagnant water will kill everything. So keep that in mind.

Many blessings as we get near the end of the year, and many blessings to all of you financially. I hope 2025 brings you endless riches, money, and everything you need. Take care, everybody, and have a happy and safe New Year and holiday season.

Colleges and universities can purchase my bankruptcy law textbook directly from Routledge Publishing. For paralegals and students buying single copies, you can do so via Amazon Books. To access my YouTube channel, click this link.

• Bankruptcy
• Your Wallet

Please note that the information on this site does not constitute legal advice and should be considered for informational purposes only.