FTD LLC (FTD), also known as Florists' Transworld Delivery, is a

floral wire service Flower delivery is a service in floristry. In many cases it is conducted through websites which allow consumers to browse online catalogues of flowers. They are often delivered to a third party, the recipient of the gift. Historically, these were ...

retailer Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, an ...

and

wholesaler Wholesaling or distributing is the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional or other professional business users; or to other wholesalers (wholesale businesses) and related subordinated services. In ...

based in

Downers Grove Downers Grove is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1832 by Pierce Downer, whose surname serves as the eponym for the village. It is a south-west suburb of Chicago. The village is located between I-88 and I-55. ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

, in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. FTD was founded as Florists' Telegraph Delivery in 1910, to help customers send flowers remotely on the same day by using

florist Floristry is the production, commerce, and trade in flowers. It encompasses flower care and handling, floral design and arrangement, merchandising, production, display and flower delivery. Wholesale florists sell bulk flowers and related su ...

s in the FTD network who are near the intended recipient. It was based in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

and then moved to

Southfield, Michigan Southfield is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 76,618. As a northern suburb of Detroit, Southfield shares part of its southern border with Detroit. The city was originall ...

prior to its move to Downers Grove. It originated as a

retailers' cooperative A retailers' cooperative is a type of cooperative which employs economies of scale on behalf of its retailer members. Retailers' cooperatives use their purchasing power to acquire discounts from manufacturers and often share marketing expenses. A r ...

and began a process of

demutualization Demutualization is the process by which a customer-owned mutual organization (''mutual'') or co-operative changes legal form to a joint stock company. It is sometimes called stocking or privatization. As part of the demutualization process, memb ...

in 1994. It operates two main businesses: The Consumer Business sells flowers and gift items through its websites and The Floral Business sells computer services, software and even fresh

cut flowers Cut flowers are flowers or flower buds (often with some stem and leaf) that have been cut from the plant bearing it. It is usually removed from the plant for decorative use. Typical uses are in vase displays, wreaths and garlands. Many ga ...

to FTD and

Interflora Interflora is a flower delivery network, associated with over 58,000 affiliated flower shops in over 140 countries. It is a subsidiary of Teleflora, a subsidiary of The Wonderful Company. History In 1920 a florist, Joe Dobson, of Leighto ...

affiliated florists. Retail Florist Association (formerly Extra Touch Florist Association and FTD Association) is a

trade association A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific Industry (economics), industry. An industry tra ...

that originated as the member education, advocacy and quality assurance arm of FTD, breaking formal ties with FTD in 2001. FTD processes orders through the Mercury Network, its international telecommunications service.

History

On August 18, 1910, thirteen American florists led by John Valentine, a Denver lawyer and floral company owner agreed to serve each other's out-of-town customers by exchanging orders via

telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...

. This group was called Florists' Telegraph Delivery. In 1914, the company adapted ''Mercury'' by sixteenth century Flemish sculptor

Giambologna Giambologna (1529 – 13 August 1608), also known as Jean de Boulogne (French), Jehan Boulongne (Flemish) and Giovanni da Bologna (Italian), was the last significant Italian Renaissance sculptor, with a large workshop producing large and small ...

for its ''Mercury Man'' corporate logo, to emphasize the speed of delivery. In 1965, it began offering international order, and took the name of Florists' Transworld Delivery.

Going public

In 1994, FTD began a process of

, acquiring control of the business, and ownership of its assets. On December 19, 1994, a precursor to the FTD Corporation, a private, for-profit company

Perry Capital Richard Cayne Perry (born February 9, 1955) is an American hedge fund manager whose firm, Perry Capital LLC (closed in 2016) invested in several companies and, starting in 2012, owned a controlling interest in Barneys New York. Perry sold his con ...

, acquired FTD, which then divided FTD into two organizations: FTD Incorporated, a for profit corporation, and FTD Association, a non-profit

. FTD Incorporated retained FTD's businesses, including the Mercury Network and the clearinghouse, and controlled FTD Association's rules, regulations, and bylaws. The FTD Association retained member education, advocacy and quality assurance. In 2000, FTD Incorporated held an

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investme ...

of FTD.com on the

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

. FTD Group was listed on the NYSE in 2005. The company is based in

. In 2001, the FTD Association separated from FTD Incorporated, terminated all contracts, and, in exchange for $14 million, renamed itself Extra Touch Floral Association, and later, Retail Florist Association. It is based in

Livonia, Michigan Livonia is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 95,535 at the 2020 census, which ranked it as Michigan's ninth most-populated municipality. Livonia is a part of Metro Detroit and is located about west of th ...

. In 2008,

United Online United Online, Inc. was an independent public company formed by the 2001 merger of NetZero and Juno Online Services. It is currently a subsidiary of investment bank B. Riley Financial. The company's range of products and services has evolved si ...

() announced a merger agreement with FTD Group, valued at $800 million. The acquisition was completed and shares of FTD ceased to trade on the

NYSE The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed co ...

August 26, 2008. In 2013, FTD is spun off from

resulting in FTD Companies, In

becoming an independent, publicly traded company listed on NASDAQ. In July 2019, FTD's North American and Latin America consumer and florist businesses were purchased by Nexus Capital Management and thusly have become a privately owned company and no longer will be a publicly traded company.

Acquisitions

In 1994, FTD was acquired by

Perry Capital Corporation Perry, also known as pear cider, is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally the perry pear. It has been common for centuries in England, particularly in Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire. It is also mad ...

from the florists and converted into a for-profit corporation. On July 31, 2006, FTD, Inc. announced its acquisition of

Interflora Holdings Interflora is a flower delivery network, associated with over 58,000 affiliated flower shops in over 140 countries. It is a subsidiary of Teleflora, a subsidiary of The Wonderful Company. History In 1920 a florist, Joe Dobson, of Leighton's ...

, a UK-based sister

co-operative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

that offered the FTD network in Britain and Ireland under the

brand. "''The acquisition, first announced on July 7th, 2006, was made for a purchase price of GBP 66 million, or approximately S122 million, excluding transaction costs.''" In 2012, Interflora acquired Flying Flowers,

Flowers Direct A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive The reproductive system of an organism, also known as the genital system, is the biological system made up of all the anatomical organs involved in sexual reproduction. ...

and

Drake Algar Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given nam ...

in the U.K. In July 2019, FTD's North American and Latin America consumer and florist businesses were purchased by

Nexus Capital Management NEXUS is a joint Canada Border Services Agency and U.S. Customs and Border Protection-operated Trusted Traveler and expedited border control program designed for pre-approved, low-risk travelers. Members of the program can avoid waits at border ...

and are now known as FTD LLC.

Operations

Fiscal year 2006 revenues grew 6.2% to $465.1 million, compared with revenues of $437.8 million for fiscal 2005. This revenue growth was driven by an 11.6% increase in revenue in the Consumer Segment. The Mercury Network, the electronic network used by FTD, processes about fifteen million orders annually, through about 50,000 FTD affiliates in 154 countries, of which about 20,000 are in the United States and Canada. On July 19, 2018, it was announced that CEO

John Walden John Charles Creasey Walden ( Chinese: 華樂庭; 17 April 1925–2013) was a London-born member of the colonial administration in Hong Kong from 1951 until his retirement 1980. He graduated in 1950 from Merton College, Oxford, with a second c ...

would be stepping down as the company began restructuring. Scott Levin took over as president and CEO. In June 2019 FTD filed for

Chapter 11 Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, whet ...

bankruptcy protection while it restructures; all customer deliveries will continue in the meantime. The company said it has a tentative deal to sell its flower delivery business in North and South America to Nexus Capital. It has also received offers to buy two subsidiaries: Personal Creations and the candy delivery business Shari's Berries. Shari's Berries was acquired in 2019 by 1-800-Flowers.com. In July 2019, the forgoing transactions were consummated for FTD's floral consumer businesses and FTD Companies became FTD LLC. with the purchase of FTD and

ProFlowers ProFlowers is a flower retailer in the United States. It is an e-commerce company that sells products shipped from growers, suppliers and its own distribution facilities to consumers. ProFlowers is headquartered in San Diego, California. It is a wh ...

by Nexus Capital Management. In March 2020, Charlie Cole was named CEO.

Lawsuits

FTD had obtained a near-monopoly position in its market. It has been sued several times by the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and a ...

to ensure it does not engage in non-competitive behavior, namely prohibiting members from affiliating with competing flowers-by-wire services. FTD entered into consent decrees with the Department of Justice after 1956, 1969, and 1990 suits. Florists' Transworld Delivery (FTD), sued its competitor

for false advertising in August 2005. The suit focused on ProFlowers' claim to ship "direct from the fields" with "no middlemen". Stating that the lawsuit was "without merit", ProFlowers brought counterclaims against FTD. The lawsuit was settled a year later out of court.

References

External links

FTD, Inc.
– florist trade business
FTD.COM
– consumer direct sales
www.etfa.org
– Retail Florist Association corporate website (separated from FTD in 2001)