Party City latest to seek sales jolt from Amazon

Party City looks at its high name recognition, which it says is 80 percent among Americans, and sees a missed opportunity because not all of them are customers. Now it’s betting Amazon can help.

Early next month, the company’s Halloween costumes will be available on the web giant’s marketplace platform, according to James Harrison, chief executive officer of Party City Holdco Inc.

This marks the first time it’s sold branded items outside its more than 900 stores and website. If all goes well, Christmas and New Year’s goods will be added.

After years of viewing Amazon.com Inc. as more of a competitor than a selling platform, Party City is the latest brand to succumb to the lure of its massive audience, joining the likes of Nike and Best Buy. Some surveys show that about half of all online shopping searches in the U.S. begin at Amazon. About 60 million U.S. households, nearly half the households in the country, have Prime memberships, according to Cowen and Company.

“It’s the world’s largest mall,” Harrison said. “It gives us an opportunity to reach out to a large segment of the population.”

Party City isn’t just a retailer — a 2005 merger with wholesaler Amscan turned it into a manufacturer, too. It now produces about 80 percent of the merchandise it sells. Additionally, its wholesale brands, like Costumes USA, are sold to other stores as private-label goods. This includes merchandise already sold by third parties in Amazon’s marketplace.

Like most of the retail industry, Party City is looking for new avenues to sales growth in a world with increased online competition. The company boosted sales just 3.4 percent to $2.37 billion over the two years through 2017. In the wake of the demise of Toys R Us, Party City announced plans in June to open toy shops in its temporary Halloween stores.