Party City has appointed Barry Litwin as President and CEO as the company continues to eke its way back from its January 2023 bankruptcy.
Litwin most recently served as the CEO of Global Industrial Company (GIC), a distributor of industrial products that serves more than 500,000 customers across the manufacturing, transportation, retail and healthcare sectors. Under his leadership, GIC achieved market-leading revenue, profit and share price growth, a feat that he now hopes to repeat at Party City.
Plagued both by challenges that affected retail in general — including the pandemic, inflation and higher shipping costs — and some unique to its business, such as a helium shortage, Party City filed for bankruptcy in early 2023 and officially emerged from Chapter 11 just 10 months later with most of its stores intact. After ushering the company through the bankruptcy process, previous CEO Brad Weston stepped down in November 2023 and President and Chief Commercial Officer Sean Thompson took over as interim CEO.
Now the company hopes that Litwin’s “disciplined model to strategy setting and operational execution” will supercharge its turnaround efforts, according to a company statement. Prior to his role at GIC, Litwin served as the CEO of specialty camera and electronics retailer Adorama, where he also orchestrated a turnaround. He also has held senior executive roles at Sears, Office Depot, Avnet and Fannie May Candies.
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“I am excited to join Party City at a pivotal time as we reposition the business for a stronger future,” said Litwin in a statement. “Party City is a leader in party goods and supplies, and I see many opportunities to strengthen our financial performance and build a leading end-to-end celebration experience for consumers.”
