1-800-Flowers.com, Inc. is a

floral Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants (Flowering plant, angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls in ...

and foods gift retailer and distribution company in the United States. The company's focus, except for

Mother's Day Mother's Day is a celebration honoring the mother of the family or individual, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on different days in many parts of the world, most commonly in Mar ...

and

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a Christian martyrs, martyr named Saint Valentine, Valentine, and ...

, is on gift baskets. They also use the name ''1-800-Baskets.com''. Their use of "coyly self-descriptive telephone numbers" is part of founder James McCann's business model.

History

Founding and early years

The concept of using the word "flowers" within a

phoneword Phonewords are mnemonic phrases represented as alphanumeric equivalents of a telephone number. In many countries, the digits on the telephone keypad also have letters assigned. By replacing the digits of a telephone number with the correspondin ...

was originated by William Alexander in the early 1980s. The phone number, 1-800-356-9377, had been randomly assigned to a trucking brokerage in Wisconsin owned by Curtis Jahn and was used for that company until 1981. In an agreement with Jahn that would later be sharply contested, Granville Semmes and David Snow formed a Louisiana corporation that began to use that number to sell flowers in Louisiana, starting in 1982. The use of the number would trigger a series of lawsuits. Their business struggled and that company was dissolved, with its assets going to investors James Poage and John Davis of Texas. The new corporation struggled financially as well. Its assets were acquired in 1986 by McCann, an owner of several flower shops in the New York City area since 1976, under whom the business saw success and growth. In 1994, the company bought Conroy's Flowers. The 1800flowers.com domain name was registered on September 1, 1995. In 1999, the company was listed on

NASDAQ The Nasdaq Stock Market (; National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the U.S. by volume, and ranked second on the list ...

. In May 2006, Alpine Confections Inc. brands including Fannie May Confections, Fannie Farmer and Harry London Candies were purchased for $85 million. In September 2007, it announced a partnership with

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. (MSLO) is an American diversified media and merchandising company founded by Martha Stewart in 1997 and owned by Marquee Brands LLC since April 2019. It is organized into four business segments: publishin ...

to produce a line of floral products inspired by

Martha Stewart Martha Helen Stewart (, ; born August 3, 1941) is an American retail business woman, writer, and television personality. As the founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, focusing on home and hospitality, she gained success through a variety ...

. According to the ''

Consumerist ''Consumerist'' (also known as ''The Consumerist'') was a non-profit consumer affairs website owned by Consumer Media LLC, a subsidiary of ''Consumer Reports'', with content created by a team of full-time reporters and editors. The site's focu ...

'' in 2008, customers reported unknowingly being subscribed to a "membership" called LiveWell after receiving rebate checks from 1-800-Flowers. It had 4000 employees as of 2008, with a market cap of

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

119 million. In 2009, revenue was US$714 million.1-800 Flowers.com (FLWS) annual SEC income statement filing via Wikinvest
/ref> Operating income was US$72.2 million, net income was US$98.4 million, assets were valued at US$286 million,1-800 Flowers.com (FLWS) annual SEC balance sheet filing via Wikinvest
/ref> and equity was at 134 million. In March 2017, Fannie May and Harry London were sold to

Ferrero SpA Ferrero International SpA ( , ), more commonly known as Ferrero Group or simply Ferrero, is an Italian multinational company with headquarters in Alba. Ferrero is a manufacturer of branded chocolate and confectionery products, and the second ...

for $115 million.

Acquisitions

* March 2005, Cheryl's Cookies * May 2006, Alpine Confections Inc. brands including Fannie May Confections, Fannie Farmer and Harry London Candies * April 1, 2008, DesignPac Gifts LLC. * July 21, 2008, Napco Marketing Corporation. * August 1, 2011, Flowerama. * August 5, 2019, Shari's Berries * August 3, 2020, Personalization Mall * October 28, 2021, Vital Choice * January 14, 2022, Alice Table * May 02, 2023, SmartGift

References

External links

* {{Official, https://www.1800flowersinc.com
Reports on Alleged Fraud by 1-800-Flowers.com
Carle Place, New York Retail companies established in 1982 Companies listed on the Nasdaq Florist companies Online retailers of the United States Telephone numbers in the United States Companies based in Nassau County, New York 1982 establishments in Louisiana 1999 initial public offerings

History

Founding and early years

Acquisitions

See also

References

External links