Ten Years Later and ProFlowers Still Growing Fresh From the Fields

    SAN DIEGO, Feb. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Valentine's Day marks ten years of
 "growth" for ProFlowers(R), the online fresh flower marketplace.
 ProFlowers.com delivered flowers for the first time on Feb. 14, 1998 and is
 one of the highest-rated and fastest-growing flower companies in business.
 
     Ten years ago, ProFlowers delivered its first 500 bouquets of roses
 shipped direct from a single farm in California. This Valentine's Day, the
 company expects to serve more than a million customers with 185 different
 varieties of fresh cut flowers shipped from eight different countries
 around the world.
 
     ProFlowers was founded to solve a specific problem: Americans wanted to
 buy flowers more often but did not because of their high price and short
 vase life. To address those issues, ProFlowers made a strategic decision to
 use then-emerging Internet technology not only to sell direct but to ship
 direct to consumers. The company's proprietary e-commerce platform
 eliminated middlemen and provided customers with direct access to the
 world's best growers. While other dot-coms have come and gone, ProFlowers
 has experienced consistent growth over the past ten years from zero to
 almost $300 million in annual revenue.
 
     The company's innovative business model allows customers to receive a
 higher quality, fresher product at a lower price point, while growers
 receive significant benefits through improved profitability. The company
 and its people continue to be recognized for their pioneering approach.
 
     ProFlowers was named Internet Start-Up of the Year by the San Diego
 Software Industry Council (SDSIC) in 1999. CEO Bill Strauss, the company's
 first employee, along with company founder Jared Polis, won the 2000 Ernst
 & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award in San Diego. As the customer base
 grew, so did the company, expanding from a small start up staff to more
 than 300 employees today.
 
     "From day one, our business has been about changing the way America
 sends flowers. We took a new look at a very established category and
 discovered the best way to make customers happy was to deliver beautiful
 flowers that stay fresher, longer at an affordable price point. We were the
 first to offer one dozen roses online for $29.99 and then two dozen roses
 for $29.99 -- while protecting the income of our growers," said Bill
 Strauss, CEO. "Equally important is the employee experience -- we strive to
 make ProFlowers a fantastic place to work and take pride in the loyalty of
 our employees as much as our customers."
 
     In 2003, the company changed its name to Provide Commerce, Inc. and
 went public on NASDAQ at $15 a share. In 2006, Liberty Media Corporation
 (Nasdaq:   LINTA, LCAPA) ("Liberty") purchased Provide Commerce for $477
 million or $33.75 a share.
 
     "Provide Commerce's superior business model and high-quality leadership
 team caught our eye early on," said Greg Maffei, President and CEO of
 Liberty. "The company continues to hire and retain top talent, enabling the
 innovation necessary to exceed customer expectations. These strengths
 combined with ongoing solid sales growth make Provide Commerce an important
 asset for Liberty and a brand that will continue to be a strong performer
 for us."
 
     About ProFlowers(R)
 
     ProFlowers(R) is run by Provide Commerce, Inc., which operates an
 e-commerce marketplace of websites for perishable goods that offers fresh,
 high-quality products direct from the supplier to the customer at
 competitive prices. The company's platform combines an online storefront,
 proprietary supply chain management technology and established supplier
 relationships to create a market platform that bypasses traditional supply
 chains of wholesalers, distributors and retailers.
 
     Provide Commerce(R) launched its marketplace in 1998 to sell and
 deliver fresh cut flowers for everyday and special occasions such as
 Valentine's Day, Easter, Mother's Day, birthday and anniversary events,
 through its ProFlowers(R) brand and website, http://www.proflowers.com.
 Provide Commerce also offers fresh fruit and confections direct from the
 supplier to its customers at Cherry Moon Farms(R),
 http://www.cherrymoonfarms.com, and Secret Spoon(sm),
 http://www.secretspoon.com. For more information, please visit
 http://www.providecommerce.com.
 
     Liberty Media Corporation is a holding company that owns interests in a
 broad range of electronic retailing, media, communications and
 entertainment businesses. Those interests are attributed to two tracking
 stock groups: Liberty Interactive, which includes Liberty Media's interests
 in QVC, Provide Commerce, IAC/InterActiveCorp and Expedia, and Liberty
 Capital, which includes all Liberty Media's assets that are not attributed
 to Liberty Interactive, including Liberty Media's interests in Starz
 Entertainment Group and News Corporation.
 
 
 

SOURCE ProFlowers