1-800-Flowers® Franchise Convention Draws Record Attendance

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.

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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 FruitBouquets^SM 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.com^sm (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