(NEXSTAR) – What used to be your local Party City store may soon be selling books, recliner chairs, cowboy boots or discount merchandise.
The party supply chain announced in December it would be going out of business “immediately” and shuttering all locations. The company had previously filed for bankruptcy, but was still struggling with slow sales and financial issues.
We’re now getting a glimpse at what might become of the hundreds of shuttered Party City stores around the country. The locations’ leases were auctioned off on Friday and the names of the top bidders were released in a Texas court filing.
The most common top bidder was Dollar Tree, which entered the winning bid for nearly 150 former Party City locations.
Dollar Tree, which also owns the discount chain Family Dollar, has aggressive plans to expand, the Wall Street Journal reported last fall. Last year the company also bought 170 leases from fellow dollar store chain 99 Cents Only, which went bankrupt.
Nexstar reached out to Dollar Tree for comment on the auction and what they plan to do with the leases, if approved, but didn’t hear back by publication time.
Dollar Tree isn’t the only familiar discount retailer making a play for the Party City locations. Five Below, which largely sells products under $5, was the winning bidder for more than 40 leases.
Other brands making a play for some of the empty stores include Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Burlington Coat Factory, Rack Room Shoes, furniture company La-Z-Boy, and Western wear brand Cavender’s.
A hearing to approve the transfer of leases as a result of the auction is scheduled to take place at the end of the month in a Houston court.
