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Party City is struggling to survive the global shortage of helium.
The New Jersey-based party supplies company announced Thursday that it would close about 45 stores in the country this year, while it is struggling with a decrease in gas supply critical.
Balloons have become more difficult to find in party stores because helium reserves of some of the major US suppliers have been depleted. Gas demand is increasing while about 75% of helium comes from three suppliers in the world, USA Today reported.
"This year, after a careful review and evaluation of our store fleet, we made the decision to close more stores than usual to optimize our market performance, to focus on most profitable locations and to improve the overall health of our sites. portfolio of stores, "said President James Harrison in a statement.
The company said it usually closes between 10 and 15 stores each year, but with the future of helium in the air, it will close nearly 5% of the sites.
The chain has not revealed whether any Big Apple sites would be affected, but closures have been reported in Connecticut, Illinois, California, and Washington, according to USA Today.
Meanwhile, the party chain is struggling to find new supplies of helium.
"More importantly, we signed a letter of agreement for a new helium source that, subject to the final execution of a definitive contract, would provide additional quantities of fuel. helium from this summer and continuing for two and a half years, "said Harrison.
"We believe that this new source should substantially eliminate the deficit we are experiencing at current allocation rates and improve our ability to restore a normal level of sales of latex balloons and metal balloons."
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