CARLE PLACE, N.Y.,
Oct. 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- As it did last year, this
year's 1-800-Flowers National Franchise Convention again attracted
more attendees than it ever has before, continuing the event's
reign as the floral industry's largest franchise meeting.
Held September 29-October 1, 2013 at
the Venetian Las Vegas resort hotel & casino, the convention
brought together hundreds of florists and other floral industry
professionals from across the United
States.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131021/NY00437LOGO)
With its theme "Celebrating Community – Achieving Success
Together," the convention emphasized collaboration, focusing on
opportunities for retail florists to grow their businesses while
underscoring the resources 1-800-Flowers provides as the industry's
largest franchise organization. "The highly talented and
dedicated florists throughout our franchise family have a unique
way of connecting with the communities they serve, building lasting
relationships, and delivering smiles to the special people in their
customers' lives," said Chris
McCann, President of 1-800-FLOWERS.COM. "We are committed to
working closely with each of our franchisees, reaching new heights
of success together by sharing ideas, offering truly original
products, providing creative marketing support, and remaining on
the cutting edge of technology with such innovations as
award-winning mobile apps designed to engage consumers and drive
business to our franchised flower shops."
Complementing the growth of its franchise community,
1-800-FLOWERS.COM continues to set the floral industry pace in
redefining gifting. An example is the FruitBouquetsSM
collection of carved fresh fruit arrangements which increasing
numbers of 1-800-Flowers franchisees throughout the country are now
offering their customers as a delicious and thoughtful gift
experience.
Highlights of the 2013 1-800-Flowers Franchise Convention
included presentations from internationally renowned experts who
provided insights on everything from imaginative floral design, to
maximizing employee performance, to optimizing social media.
The event also featured a 12,000 square-foot trade fair showcasing
the latest products and accessories.
Another highlight was the debut this year of the Floriology
Institute Design Competition. Capturing first place in the
competition was Trisha Fleegal of
1-800-Flowers Fairfax, Virginia. Second place went to Rcena
Manness of Flowerama in Springfield,
Missouri, and third place went to Patti Fowler of Flowerama in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Also during
the convention, Danae
Timmerman...who owns Flowerama shops in Richfield and St.
Paul, Minnesota...was named winner of the "Franchisee of the
Year" award. In addition, Bob
Webb of 1-800-Flowers Tampa Bay,
Florida, received the "Lifetime Recognition"
award.
"I want to express my sincere thanks to all who came to
Las Vegas for the 2013
1-800-Flowers Franchise Convention, making this not only the
best-attended franchise meeting in the history of the floral
industry, but also the most successful as we explored a wide range
of exciting possibilities to achieve new levels of growth
together," said Mark Nance, AAF,
President of 1-800-Flowers Franchising and President of
BloomNet. "Also, my congratulations to all the gifted floral
designers who participated in the Floriology Institute Design
Competition as well as a special tip of the cap to our Franchisee
of the Year and Lifetime Recognition recipients."
About
1-800-FLOWERS.COM
1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. is the world's leading florist and gift
shop. For more than 35 years, 1-800-FLOWERS® (1-800-356-9377 or
www.1800flowers.com) has been helping deliver smiles for our
customers with gifts for every occasion, including fresh flowers
and the finest selection of plants, gift baskets, gourmet foods,
confections, candles, balloons and plush stuffed animals. As
always, our 100% Smile Guarantee backs every gift.
1-800-FLOWERS.COM has been honored in Internet Retailer's "Hot 500
Guide" for 2013. 1-800-FLOWERS.COM was recognized for our mobile
site with a Gold Award in the Ecommerce/Shopping category of the
2012 Horizon Interactive Awards. 1-800-FLOWERS.COM was also rated
number one vs. competitors for customer service by STELLAService in
2011 and named by the E-Tailing Group as one of only nine online
retailers out of 100 benchmarked to meet the criteria for
Excellence in Online Customer Service in 2011. The Company's
BloomNet® international floral wire service (www.mybloomnet.net)
provides a broad range of quality products and value-added services
designed to help professional florists grow their businesses
profitably. The 1-800-FLOWERS.COM "Gift Shop" also includes gourmet
gifts such as popcorn and specialty treats from: The Popcorn
Factory® (1-800-541-2676 or www.thepopcornfactory.com); cookies and
baked gifts from Cheryl's® (1-800-443-8124 or www.cheryls.com);
premium chocolates and confections from Fannie May® confections
brands (www.fanniemay.com and www.harrylondon.com); gift baskets
and towers from 1-800-Baskets.com® (www.1800baskets.com);
incredible, carved fresh fruit arrangements from
FruitBouquets.comsm (www.fruitbouquets.com); wine gifts
from Winetasting.com® (www.winetasting.com); top quality steaks and
chops from Stock Yards® (www.stockyards.com); as well as premium
branded customizable invitations and personal stationery from
FineStationery.com® (www.finestationery.com). The Company's
Celebrations® brand (www.celebrations.com) is a source for
creative party ideas, must-read articles, online invitations and
ecards, all created to help people celebrate holidays and the
everyday. 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. is involved in a broad range of
corporate social responsibility initiatives including continuous
expansion and enhancement of its environmentally-friendly "green"
programs as well as various philanthropic and charitable efforts.
Shares in 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. are traded on the NASDAQ Global
Select Market, ticker symbol: FLWS.
About
BloomNet®
BloomNet® (www.mybloomnet.net or 1-800-BloomNet) is an
international wire service and a world class business solutions
provider offering quality products and diverse services to a select
network of professional retail Florists who utilize BloomNet's
resources to grow their businesses profitably. Professional
Florists who are part of the BloomNet network can take advantage of
several key benefits including the highest published rebate in the
industry with the easiest rebate qualifications, tiered membership
costs, state-of-the-art technology solutions, and a complete suite
of value-added products and services. BloomNet has
established and maintains the industry's most stringent business
standards for participating Florists. BloomNet, Inc. is a
wholly-owned subsidiary of 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc.
SOURCE 1-800-FLOWERS.COM