1-800-Flowers.com Inc. will acquire Shari’s Berries, among other assets of FTD Companies Inc. gourmet food business, for $20.5 million.
1-800-Flowers.com Inc. will acquire more than 450 domain names, copyrights, trademarks, customer data, phone numbers and other intellectual property, related to FTD’s gourmet food business.
In June, FTD filed for bankruptcy and announced it would sell off its business in pieces. FTD also owns ecommerce brands FTD.com, ProFlowers.com, PersonalCreations.com, ProPlants.com, Gifts.com and Interflora.co.uk. FTD had previously stated it would not be able to fund its operations beyond July 2019 and has more than $200 million in long-term debt. The company reached a deal to sell its restructured North American and Latin American businesses, including ProFlowers, to a Nexus Capital Management affiliate for $95 million, according to a court declaration by CEO Scott Levin. Also in June, U.K.-based floral retailer Teleflora purchased the Interflora brand for $59.5 million.
FTD on July 31 held an auction in which 1-800-Flowers successfully bid on Shari’s Berries, which sells at Berries.com. The bankruptcy court will consider approval of the transaction at a hearing on Aug. 9, and 1-800-Flowers plans to close the transaction soon after the hearing in August, says Chris McCann, CEO of 1-800-Flowers.com Inc.
Like FTD, 1-800-Flowers. Inc. has several flower and food gifting brands under its umbrella, including 1800Flowers.com, ThePopcornFactory.com, Cheryls.com, Stockyards.com, FruitBouquets.com, HarryandDavid.com, Wolfermans.com, SimplyChocolate.com, Goodsey.com, 1800Baskets.com and PersonalizationUniverse.com.
McCann said that 1-800-Flowers 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.”
1-800-Flowers Inc. is the leader in the flowers and gifts category in Internet Retailer’s Top 1000, and ranks No. 78 in the Internet Retailer 2019 Top 500. Its web sales grew 2.8% in 2018 compared with 2017.
FTD ranks No. 157. In contrast, FTD reported that its sales had decreased 6.5% to $1.01 billion for the year in 2018 compared with $1.08 billion in 2017. In addition, it reported a net loss of $224.7 million for 2018.