Exclusive | Party City’s founder blames bankruptcy on private-equity firms:

Steve Mandell, who launched the chain in 1986 with a single store in East Hanover, NJ, pinned the retailer’s implosion on a lack of bargains and variety at its stores — a problem he claims was created when private equity executives locked it into a large supply deal with a manufacturer they already owned for roughly 80% of its supply.

This sounds exactly like what happened with Olive Garden. It’s like legal money laundering.