By Mark Seavy 

The new owners of Party City, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Big Lots seek to resurrect these recently acquired retail brands. But what form they will take moving forward, and whether specialty stores remain relevant to consumers, isn’t clear.  

Several specialty retailers—including Dick’s Sporting Goods, Michael’s, and Best Buy—remain very much in business. But others like Toys “R” Us, Sports Authority, and Joanne Fabrics have vanished or are in the process of vanishing. 

“When I can buy everything on Amazon or under one roof like Walmart and Target, why do I need to go anywhere else?” a licensing executive said. “Fifteen years ago, I would have done some shopping at the specialists because you couldn’t find some [of those] goods anywhere else. It’s going to be a challenge for all of them.” 

Despite these obstacles, the new owners appear undaunted. 

For example Ad Populum—the named buyer of Party City and part of a group that also includes NECA, Kid Robot, Rubie’s Costumes, and others—hasn’t disclosed plans for the brand and whether it would operate any stores, which once numbered more than 700. NECA CEO Joel Weinshanker wasn’t available for comment, but he has reportedly approached licensors about potential direct-to-retail deals.  

Party City, which filed for bankruptcy for a second time in December, focused on its own brand but did open seasonal Halloween City locations starting in 2018. Dollar Tree (150) and Five Below (40) were top bidders for vacant Party City leases. Dollar Tree plans to open 300 new locations this year, while Five Below is targeting 170 locations and will focus on former Party City stores to expand in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, CFO Kenneth Bull said. 

However, Party City recently posted notice on Instagram of a pending “exciting Party City experience” that would be “transforming the way you celebrate with a fresh new look, expanded product selections, and even more ways to bring your party to life.” 

Variety Wholesalers, meanwhile, having purchased 220 Big Lots locations out of bankruptcy, plans to reopen nine revamped stores in April. Those will be followed by additional re-openings in May (130), with the remainder taking place by June 5th. Henderson, NC-based Variety also operates 380 stores under the Roses and Maxway banners. Big Lots, which had 1,400 locations at its peak, sold leases on many of its stores to Ollie’s Bargain Basement (63), Burlington (34), and Tractor Supply (15). 

As for Bed Bath & Beyond, brand owner Beyond Inc. has licensed it to Brentwood, TN-based Kirkland’s, which had 317 stores as of mid-2024 but recently announced plans to close 19 locations. Beyond made a $25-million investment for a 40% stake in Kirkland’s and plans to call for the opening of five “small format” Bed Bath & Beyond stores along with some formats inside Kirkland’s locations. Bed Bath & Beyond (which once had more than 1,500 stores) had a format that averaged 45,000 square feet, but these upcoming efforts will be much smaller, Kirkland’s has said. There also may be room for some “flagship” locations, Beyond CEO Marcus Lemonis said.  

As part of its new strategy, Beyond struck deals with two suppliers that are “creative and experimental in nature” without taking on inventory. This will enable it to pick up 10-12% in incremental margin, Lemonis said. Beyond also owns Overstock.com. 

“As we look at our vendor lineup, we still believe we have too many,” Lemonis said. “We want to be far more important to fewer vendors because we believe the path to profitability is partly driven by margins. Those margins are driven by your importance to other people and other creative solutions around that.” 

For Kirkland’s, the new Bed Bath locations will generate double the average revenue of its Home stores, CEO Amy Sullivan said. The product assortment will consist of Bed Bath’s “iconic legacy brands” mixed with Kirkland’s seasonal and décor products, according to Sullivan. Kirkland will also supply private label products under the Home brand, she said.