It is hard to think of a brand name less appropriate to the conditions of a deadly pandemic, both in spirit and business model, than "Party City." But the largest retailer of celebration supplies is weathering the crisis by rethinking its role in customer's lives both during and after COVID. That means teaching us how to party safely and often virtually. And there lies the lasting lessons of the crisis. As CMO Julie Roehm suggests, that involves a deeper, more imaginative rethinking of corporate culture, product mix, and especially content.
