The bond market, propped up for now by the Federal Reserve, has been a major salve for struggling retailers in a position to tap it. Macy’s, L Brands, Nordstrom and others turned it last year as a way to shore up liquidity during the uncertainty created by the COVID-19 crisis.
To Party City, the bond offering puts off for another few years reckoning with its debt load, a legacy of past private equity buyouts and which became a potentially dangerous burden with its sales on the decline.
For the fourth quarter, Party City now expects total revenue between $645 million and $650 million, a potential decline of 11.8% from Q4 2019, when sales also came up short for Party City. Management expects brand comparable sales in Q4 to be down by mid-single digits. At the same time, Party City managed to significantly shrink its operating losses, from $227.1 million in 2019 to up to $44 million in Q4 2020.
Source: Retail Dive