The word “helium” was mentioned 54 times on Party City’s quarterly conference call on Thursday. Without declines in sales attributable to the shortage, the retailer’s chief accountant said comps would have increased 0.7%. But the company also announced that it had a new source of helium to provide additional supplies for the next two and a half years.
Over the long run, Party City is looking to make the most of its stores, with the accelerated closures aimed at improving “improve the overall health of our store portfolio,” Harrison said in a statement.
