Is the Party City and Staples Partnership Cause for Celebration?

With Staples staring down continued store closures and Party City having famously shuttered nearly all of its U.S. stores following a high-profile bankruptcy, it appears that both embattled entities are now joining forces in a new effort to drum up business.

The details are a bit sparse at this point in time, as delivered via an April 21 press release: Party City will be making appearances via in-store installations at Staples locations nationwide, with the participating store count targeted at over 700 locations immediately and expansion of the program on the table throughout the remainder of the year.

“Just in time for graduation season, the collaboration brings Party City’s selection of balloons, décor and party supplies together with Staples same-day print and marketing services,” the press release stated.

“Together, this creates a single destination for a wide range of personal and professional occasions — from birthdays and baby showers to grand openings and retirement parties. Customers can shop party décor, tableware, gift bags, costume accessories and favors, while also creating personalized invitations, banners, yard signs and posters through Staples print services,” it added.

Several promotional offers are backing the play, including — a buy two, get one free deal on select foil ballons; a discount of $5 on the purchase of party supplies totaling $25 or greater; an assortment of inflatable bouquets starting at just under $20; and a significant 40% price cut on custom cards, invitations, photo gifts, wrapping paper, posters, banners and yard signs; all running from today through June 13.

The press release claimed that approximately 4 million high school students were set to cross the stage this year, and that spending tied to graduation last year was $6.8 billion — a hefty cut of which the new partners in the celebration space were looking to capture in 2026.

“Staples has always been focused on making things easy for our customers, and our partnership with Party City takes that promise into new territory,” said Marshall Warkentin, President, Staples U.S. Retail.

“By bringing Party City into Staples stores, we’re expanding what customers can accomplish in one place — combining helium balloons and party supplies with our print and marketing services to offer a complete solution for celebrations, from graduations to grand openings and everything in between,” he continued.

Staples Attempts To Balance B2B Pivot with Traditional In-Store Partnerships

Staples, in particular, has been shifting a great deal of its focus to high-volume B2B operations and ecomm, similar to competitor Office Depot. That doesn’t mean it has entirely given up on the in-store experience, however, and this latest partnership with Party City is just one of many it has kicked off as of late.

In-store optical care centers have been installed in conjunction with Stanton Optical, and Verizon has helmed the introduction of additional tech services in certain Staples locations.