Founding and early years The concept of using the word "flowers" within a
phoneword 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. 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. In 1994, the company bought Conroy's Flowers. According to the
Consumerist 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$119 million. In 2009, revenue was US$714 million. Operating income was US$72.2 million, and equity was at 134 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 ==See also==