What’s in a name for 1-800-Flowers.com?
Nothing stimulates the economy like a holiday. And when it comes to Valentine's Day, spending on chocolates, cards and trinkets makes for a busy time in the American economy.
This is especially true for flowers — and 1-800- Flowers.com.
Yes, that actually is the name of the company.
"In the 1980s, it was the hot new technology," says CEO Jim McCann of the "1-800" calling services. "Then in the mid to early nineties, we decided to add this dot-com thing onto the back of it."
McCann says 1-800-Flowers.com uses a network of more than 7,000 local flower shops across the country to help grow and deliver their product. This includes Miami, which for the holiday has clocked-in 6,000 employees to prep and ship flowers for delivery.
"Valentine's Day is a crazy holiday in the middle of what is otherwise a quiet quarter," says McCann, whose competition now includes delivery services like Fed-Ex and online stores like Amazon.
"If we're not good enough to beat someone who sells everything at a commodity form, then shame on us," he says. "We have to sharpen our game all the time."
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