ProFlowers is a

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

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

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It is an

e-commerce E-commerce (electronic commerce) refers to commercial activities including the electronic buying or selling products and services which are conducted on online platforms or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile co ...

company that sells products shipped from growers, suppliers and its own distribution facilities to consumers. ProFlowers was headquartered in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of FTD Companies.

History

ProFlowers, later called "Provide Commerce", was started by

Jared Polis Jared Schutz Polis ( ; ; born May 12, 1975) is an American politician and businessman serving as the 43rd governor of Colorado since 2019. He served one term on the Colorado State Board of Education from 2001 to 2007, and five terms as the Unite ...

in 1998. In February 2006

Liberty Media Corporation Liberty Media Corporation (commonly referred to as Liberty Media or just Liberty) is an American mass media company founded by John C. Malone in 1991. The company has three divisions, reflecting its ownership stakes in the Formula One Group, ...

(NYSE:L; LMC.B) purchased Provide Commerce, Inc. (Nasdaq: PRVD) for a sum of $477 million in cash, at which point Provide Commerce became a wholly owned subsidiary of Liberty Media. Provide Commerce also offers fruit, sweets and gift baskets direct from the supplier through its Gourmet Food Business Unit, which includes the brand names Cherry Moon Farms, Secret Spoon and Shari's Berries. In 2007 Provide Commerce was selected as one of California's Best Places to Work (Sponsored by Employers Group 2007). In 2008 Provide Commerce acquired RedEnvelope, a seller of gifts. In 2010, Provide Commerce acquired Personal Creations, a personalized gifting company. In June 2013, Provide Commerce acquired Gifts.com, a premium gifting company. In November 2014, Provide Commerce acquired Sincerely, a mobile app gifting startup. In 2014, flower delivery service

Florists' Transworld Delivery FTD LLC also known as Florists' Transworld Delivery, is a floral wire service, retailer, and wholesaler based in Downers Grove, Illinois, in the United States. FTD was founded as Florists' Telegraph Delivery in 1910, to help customers send f ...

agreed to buy ProFlowers and its sister gifting brands for $430 million, creating a combined company with over $1 billion in revenue. FTD Cos. completed its purchase of Provide Commerce Dec. 31, 2014.

Litigation

ProFlowers was sued by its major rival,

(FTD), for

false advertising False advertising is the act of publishing, transmitting, distributing or otherwise publicly circulating an advertisement containing a false claim, or statement, made intentionally, or recklessly, to promote the sale of property, goods or servi ...

and

unfair competition Anti-competitive practices are business or government practices that prevent or reduce competition in a market. Antitrust laws ensure businesses do not engage in competitive practices that harm other, usually smaller, businesses or consumers. ...

in August 2005. The suit focused on ProFlowers' claim to ship "direct from the fields" with "no middlemen", alleging that the company actually often stored flowers in refrigerated warehouses, including those of third parties. For its part, ProFlowers responded that the lawsuit was "without merit"and brought counterclaims against FTD. The lawsuit was settled a year later. ProFlowers did agree to make some modifications to its advertising, although as of February 2008, ProFlowers is once again claiming in its TV commercials that it delivers flowers "straight to the door from the growers' fields". Two months after the FTD suit was filed, two law firms filed a

class action lawsuit A class action A class action is a form of lawsuit. Class Action may also refer to: * ''Class Action'' (film), 1991, starring Gene Hackman and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio * Class Action (band), a garage house band * "Class Action" (''Teenage R ...

claiming that ProFlowers used deceptive marketing, also targeting the company's freshness claims. ProFlowers called it a copycat of the FTD lawsuit. It was settled with ProFlowers not admitting any wrongdoing, but offering $10 store credits to the millions of customers in the class, paying $250,000 in attorneys' fees, and "altering its advertising". In September 2009 a class action lawsuit was filed against Provide-Commerce, the owner of ProFlowers and Encore Marketing the owner of Easy Saver, for fraud, with ProFlowers customers signed up unknowingly for the latter service leading to an unsolicited monthly fee. In February 2011 a federal class action was filed accusing Provide-Commerce and Clarus Marketing Group of defrauding online shoppers by enrolling them in a membership program that costs $9 to $15 a month if they click on ads offering free shipping with a purchase.Courthouse News Service:Class Alleges Online Billing Scam

. ''Courthouse News Service:Class Alleges Online Billing Scam'', February 18, 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Proflowers Retail companies established in 1998 Internet properties established in 1998 Companies based in San Diego Online retailers of the United States Florist companies