CARLE PLACE, N.Y. — 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. (the “Company”) (NASDAQ: FLWS), a leading provider of gifts designed to help customers express, connect and celebrate, today reported that it was the successful bidder at the auction held on July 31, 2019 for certain assets of the gourmet food business of the FTD Companies, Inc. (“FTD”), including the Shari’s Berries brand, which were previously operated by Provide Commerce LLC, a division of FTD. The bankruptcy court will consider approval of the transaction at a hearing to be held on August 9, 2019. The Company will acquire the assets through one of its wholly owned subsidiaries and plans to close the transaction soon after the hearing, subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions.
Chris McCann, CEO of 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc., said, “We are very excited to have been the winning bidder for the Shari’s Berries brand and we are looking forward to getting final court approval and closing the transaction later this month. Shari’s Berries is a leading provider of dipped berries and other specialty treats with strong brand awareness and a 15-year heritage in the gourmet gift industry. We see Shari’s Berries as an excellent fit in our “all-star” family of brands and the acquisition will help further expand our authority position as a leader in the growing gourmet food and gift baskets space.”
The Company’s winning bid of $20.5 million includes the acquisition of certain assets of FTD’s gourmet food business, including more than 450 domain names, copyrights, trademarks, customer data, phone numbers and other intellectual property.
McCann said that the Company plans to gradually integrate the Shari’s Berries brand into its operating platform and to work to reposition the brand as a premium provider of dipped berries and other gourmet treats. “As with all of our brands, we will focus on driving strong top and bottom-line performance for the Shari’s Berries brand by enhancing the overall customer experience and leveraging the unique capabilities of our business platform to improve its operating efficiency,” he said.
The Company plans to provide further details regarding the planned acquisition of the Shari’s Berries brand on August 22, 2019 when it provides guidance for its fiscal 2020 year as part of a press release and subsequent conference call announcing its fiscal 2019 fourth quarter and full year results.
About 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc.
1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. is a leading provider of gifts designed to help customers express, connect and celebrate. The Company’s Celebrations Ecosystem features our all-star family of brands, including: 1-800-Flowers.com®, 1-800-Baskets.com®, Cheryl’s Cookies®, FruitBouquets.com®, Harry & David®, Moose Munch®, The Popcorn Factory®, Wolferman’s®, Personalization Universe®, Simply Chocolate®, and Goodsey®. We also offer top-quality steaks and chops from Stock Yards®. Through the Celebrations Passport® loyalty program, which provides members with free standard shipping and no service charge across our portfolio of brands, 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. strives to deepen relationships with customers. The Company also operates BloomNet®, an international floral wire service providing a broad-range of products and services designed to help professional florists grow their businesses profitably; Napco SM, a resource for floral gifts and seasonal décor; and DesignPac®, a manufacturer of gift baskets and towers. 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. received the Gold award in the “Mobile Payments and Commerce” category at the Mobile Marketing Association 2018 Global Smarties Awards. In addition, Harry & David was named to the Internet Retailer 2019 “The Hot 100” list. Shares in 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. are traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market, ticker symbol: FLWS.
Special Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements represent the Company’s current expectations or beliefs concerning future events and can generally be identified using statements that include words such as “estimate,” “expects,” “project,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “foresee,” “forecast,” “likely,” “will,” “target” or similar words or phrases. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside of the Company’s control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from the results expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements regarding the Company’s expectations to complete the purchase of certain assets of FTD’s gourmet food business, including the Shari’s Berries brand, which were previously operated by Provide Commerce LLC, a division of FTD; it ability to close on the acquisition in August, 2019; its ability to successfully integrate and profitably grow the Shari’s Berries brand; its ability to continue to expand its position as a leader in the Gourmet Food and Gift Baskets business; the success of strategic or targeted investments in marketing and merchandising programs; and general consumer sentiment and economic conditions that may affect levels of discretionary customer purchases of the Company’s products. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any of the forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events or otherwise, made in this release or in any of its SEC filings except as may be otherwise stated by the Company. For a more detailed description of these and other risk factors, please refer to the Company’s SEC filings, including the Company’s Annual Reports on Form 10-K and its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.
