PART I
Item 1. BUSINESS
The Company
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. The 1-800-FLOWERS.COM Mobile Flower & Gift Center was named winner of the 2010 “Best Mobile App for E-commerce” by DPAC (Digiday’s Publishing & Advertising Awards) and the 2010 Mobile App of the Year Award in the “Best Shopping” category by
RIS (Retail Info Systems). 1-800-FLOWERS.COM was also rated number one vs. competitors for customer service by STELLAService 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. 1-800-FLOWERS.COM has been honored in Internet Retailer’s “Hot 100: America’s Best Retail Web Sites” for 2011 and was one of only five retailers to receive the 2011 Customer Innovation Award from Avaya for transforming the business through innovative use of business communications and collaboration technologies. 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); and wine gifts from Winetasting.com® (www.winetasting.com). The Company’s Celebrations® brand (www.celebrations.com) is a leading online destination for fabulous party ideas and planning tips and FineStationery.com®
(www.finestationery.com) is the premier site for unique, customizable invitations, announcements and greeting cards. 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.
During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009, the Company made the strategic decision to divest its Home & Children’s Gifts business segment to focus on its core Consumer Floral, BloomNet Wire Service and Gourmet Foods & Gift Baskets categories. On January 25, 2010, the Company completed the sale of these businesses; refer to the Consolidated Financial Statements “Discontinued Operations” for a further discussion. Consequently, the Company has classified the results of operations of its Home & Children’s Gifts segment as discontinued operations for all periods presented.
Shares in 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. are traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market, ticker symbol: FLWS.
References in this Annual Report on Form 10-K to “1-800-FLOWERS.COM” and the “Company” refer to 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. and its subsidiaries. The Company’s principal offices are located at One Old Country Road, Suite 500, Carle Place, NY 11514 and its telephone number at that location is (516) 237-6000.
The Origins of 1-800-FLOWERS.COM
The Company’s operations began in 1976 when James F. McCann, its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, acquired a single retail florist in New York City, which he subsequently expanded to a 14-store chain. Thereafter, the Company modified its business strategy to take advantage of the rapid emergence of toll-free calling. The Company acquired the right to use the toll-free telephone number 1-800-FLOWERS, adopted it as its corporate identity and began to aggressively build a national brand around it. The Company believes it was one of the first companies to embrace this new way of conducting business.
In order to support the growth of its toll-free business and to provide superior customer service, the Company developed an operating infrastructure that incorporated the best available technologies. Over time, the Company implemented a sophisticated transaction processing system that facilitated rapid order entry and fulfillment, an advanced telecommunications system and multiple customer service centers to handle increasing call volume.
To enable the Company to deliver products reliably nationwide on a same-day or next-day basis and to market pre-selected, high-quality floral products, the Company created BloomNet®, a nationwide network including independent local florists selected for their high-quality products, superior customer service and order fulfillment and delivery capabilities.
The Company’s online presence has enabled it to expand the number and types of products it can effectively offer to its customers. As a result, the Company has developed relationships with customers who purchase products for both a broad range of celebratory gifting occasions as well as for everyday personal use. The Company has broadened its product offering to include products that a customer could expect to find in a high-end florist shop, including a wide assortment of cut flowers and plants, candy, balloons, plush toys, giftware and gourmet gift baskets. The Company has also significantly expanded its presence in the gourmet food and gift baskets category, which the Company has
identified as having significant revenue and earnings growth potential, through a combination of organic initiatives and strategic acquisitions.
The Company’s Strategy
1-800-FLOWERS.COM’s objective is to become the leading authority on thoughtful gifting, to serve an expanding range of our customers’ celebratory needs, thereby helping our customers express themselves and connect with the important people in their lives. The Company will continue to build on the trusted relationships with our customers by providing them with ease of access, tasteful and appropriate gifts, and superior service.
The Company believes that 1-800-FLOWERS.COM is one of the most recognized brands in the floral and gift industry. The strength of its brand has enabled the Company to extend its product offerings beyond the floral category into complementary products, which include gourmet popcorn, cookies and related baked and snack food products, premium chocolate and confections, wine gifts and gourmet gift baskets. This extension of gift offerings helps our customers in all of their celebratory occasions, and will enable the Company to increase the number of purchases and the average order value by existing customers who have come to trust the 1-800-FLOWERS.COM brand, as well as continue to attract new customers.
The Company believes its brands are characterized by:
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Convenience. All of the Company’s product offerings can be purchased either via the web and wireless devices, or via the Company’s toll-free telephone numbers, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for those customers who prefer a personal gift advisor to assist them. The Company offers a variety of delivery options, including same-day or next-day service throughout the world.
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Quality. High-quality products are critical to the Company’s continued brand strength and are integral to the brand loyalty that it has built over the years. The Company offers its customers a 100% satisfaction guarantee on all of its products.
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Delivery Capability. The Company has developed a market-proven fulfillment infrastructure that allows delivery on a same-day, next-day and any-day basis. Key to the Company’s fulfillment capability is an innovative “hybrid” model which combines BloomNet (comprised of independent florists operating retail flower shops, Company-owned stores, and franchised stores), with its distribution centers located in California, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, New York and Ohio, and third-party vendors who ship directly to the Company’s customers. These fulfillment points are connected by the Company’s
proprietary “BloomLink®” communication system, a secure internet-based system through which orders and related information are transmitted.
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Selection. Over the course of a year, the Company offers more than 2,900 varieties of fresh-cut flowers, floral arrangements and plants, and more than 4,700 SKUs of gifts, gourmet foods and gift baskets, cookies, chocolates and wines.
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Customer Service. The Company strives to ensure that customer service, whether online, wireless, via the telephone, or in one of its retail stores is of the highest caliber. The Company operates a customer service center at its headquarters in New York, and employs a network of home agents to provide helpful assistance on everything from advice on product selection to the monitoring of the fulfillment and delivery process.
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As part of the Company’s continuing effort to serve the thoughtful gifting needs of its customers, and leverage its business platform, where appropriate, the Company intends to expand the breadth of the 1-800-Flowers.com brand. The Company intends to accomplish this through organic growth, and where appropriate, through acquisition of complementary businesses. In keeping with this strategy, in May 2011, the Company purchased selected assets of Fine Stationery, Inc., a retailer of personalized stationery, invitations and announcements, and in March 2011, acquired selected assets of Mrs. Beasley’s Bakery, LLC, a baker and marketer of cakes, muffins and gourmet gift baskets. In
March 2009, the Company purchased selected assets of Geerlings & Wade, Inc., a retailer of wine and related products. In July 2008, the Company acquired selected assets of Napco Marketing Corp., a wholesale merchandiser and marketer of products designed primarily for the floral industry, which complement the product line already offered by BloomNet. In April 2008, the Company acquired DesignPac Gifts, LLC, a designer, assembler and distributor of wholesale gourmet gift baskets, gourmet food towers and gift sets, including a broad range of branded and private label components, which in turn facilitated the Company’s ability to launch its direct-to-customer gift baskets 1-800-Baskets.com in November 2009 by leveraging 1-800-Flowers.com strong brand equity, online traffic and customer database along with the product design, sourcing and confecting
capabilities of DesignPac. In May 2006, the Company acquired Fannie May Confections Brands, Inc., a manufacturer and direct retailer of premium chocolates and confections, through its Fannie May®, Harry London® and Fanny Farmer® brands. In March 2005, the Company acquired Cheryl & Co., a manufacturer and direct marketer of premium cookies and related baked gift items, and, in November 2004, The Winetasting Network, a distributor and direct-to-consumer marketer of wine, now marketed under the winetasting.com URL. These acquisitions have enabled the Company to more fully develop its gourmet food and gift baskets product line, which the Company has identified as having significant growth and earnings potential.
As a complement to the Company’s own brands and product lines, the Company has formed strategic relationships with Lenox®, Waterford®, Crabtree & Evelyn®, Yankee Candle® and Junior’s® Cheescakes. The Company also continues to develop signature products in order to provide its customers with differentiated products and further its position as a destination for all of their gifting needs. During fiscal 2010, the Company terminated its exclusive three year merchandising and marketing relationship with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, which included Martha Stewart for 1-800-Flowers.com™, a co-branded line of fresh, seasonal flower arrangements and plants
which began in April of fiscal 2008, as a result of lower than anticipated customer demand for the premium priced products, thus ending the program with one year remaining on the original agreement.
As a provider of gifts to consumers and wholesalers for resale to consumers, the Company is subject to changes in consumer confidence and the economic conditions that impact our customers. Demand for the Company’s products is affected by the financial health of our customers, which is influenced by macro economic issues such as unemployment, fuel and energy costs, weakness in the housing market and unavailability of consumer credit. During the recent economic downturn, the demand for our products, compared to pre-recessionary levels, has been adversely affected by the reduction in consumer spending.
Anticipating continued economic pressure, during fiscal 2011, the Company took a more conservative view of the economy, and focused on achieving growth and enhancing its results through areas of the business over which it had more control. Throughout the year, the Company saw improving trends in terms of revenue growth, gross margin and contribution margin. Revenue returned to growth in our fiscal third quarter, and continued into our fiscal fourth quarter, resulting in annual year-over-year growth. This was achieved in a challenging environment through a merchandising strategy that focused on providing our customers with truly original products, the success of which can be seen in increased average
order value and improved return on investment in marketing programs. All of the above factors resulted in improved operating results.
Reflecting the continued uncertainty in the consumer economy, the Company does not anticipate significant improvements in consumer demand for discretionary purchases during fiscal 2012. With this in mind, the Company plans to continue its strategy of focusing on areas of its business where it believes it can exert control and thereby affect enhanced results, including:
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leveraging the Company’s operating cost structure;
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merchandising initiatives that emphasize truly original product designs and product line extensions;
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marketing programs that provide improved return on investment by engaging directly with customers to deepen our relationship with them;
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manufacturing and sourcing enhancements that can help mitigate commodity and shipping price increases and deliver increased gross profit margins, and;
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For fiscal 2012, the Company expects to build on the positive trends that it has shown during fiscal 2011, including increases in revenue, gross margin and contribution margin in its Consumer Floral business as well as continued top and bottom line growth in its BloomNet and Gourmet Food and Gift Baskets categories. The Company will continue to focus on the three principles that it believes will drive long-term profitable growth:
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Know and Take Care of Our Customer – by providing the right products and the best services to help them express themselves and deliver smiles. This is evidenced in 1-800-FLOWERS.COM recent number one ranking vs. competitors for customer service by STELLAService as well as being 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.
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Maintain and enhance our Financial Strength and Flexibility - by seeking ways to reducing our operating costs while strengthening our balance sheet and adding flexibility to our capital structure. During fiscal 2010, the Company completed the sale of its non-strategic Home and Children’s Gifts business and used the proceeds to further pay down term debt, strengthening its balance sheet and revising its bank credit facility to provide additional flexibility; and in the first quarter of fiscal 2012, completed the sale of certain assets of its WinetastingNetwork wine
fulfillment services business.
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Continue to Innovate and Invest for the Future – in new technology opportunities such as mobile e-commerce, where the Compnay was awarded the 2010 “Best Mobile App for E-commerce” by DPAC (Digiday’s Publishing & Advertising Awards) and the 2010 Mobile App of the Year Award in the “Best Shopping” category by RIS (Retail Info Systems). In addition, 1-800-FLOWERS.COM has been honored in Internet Retailer’s “Hot 100: America’s Best Retail Web Sites” for 2011 and was one of only five retailers to receive the 2011 Customer Innovation Award from Avaya for transforming the business through innovative use of business
communications and collaboration technologies.
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Business Categories
The Company has segmented its organization in the following three business categories: Consumer Floral, Gourmet Food and Gift Baskets, and BloomNet Wire Service business. The Consumer Floral business category includes the operations of the Company’s flagship brand, 1-800-Flowers.com, Celebrations, and FineStationery.com, while the Gourmet Food and Gift Baskets category includes the operations of Fannie May Confections Brands, Cheryl’s (which includes Mrs. Beasley’s), The Popcorn Factory, Winetasting.com, DesignPac and 1-800-Baskets. The BloomNet Wire Service includes the operations of BloomNet, BloomNet Technologies, and Napco. (Refer to Note 15, Business Segments
included within Part II, Item 8: Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.)
During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009, the Company made the strategic decision to divest its Home & Children’s Gifts business segment to focus on its core Consumer Floral, BloomNet Wire Service and Gourmet Foods & Gift Baskets categories. On January 25, 2010, the Company completed the sale of these businesses; refer to the Consolidated Financial Statements “Discontinued Operations” for a further discussion. Consequently, the Company has classified the results of operations of its Home & Children’s Gifts segment as discontinued operations for all periods presented.
The Company’s Products and Service Offerings
The Company offers a wide range of products including fresh-cut flowers, floral arrangements and plants, gifts, popcorn, gourmet foods and gift baskets, cookies, chocolates, candy and wine. In order to maximize sales opportunities, products are not exclusive to certain brands, and may be sold across business categories. In addition to selecting its core products, the Company’s merchandising team works closely with manufacturers and suppliers to select and design products that meet the seasonal, holiday and other special needs of its customers.
The Company’s differentiated and value-added product offerings create the opportunity to have a relationship with customers who purchase items not only for gift-giving occasions but also for everyday consumption. The Company’s merchandising team works closely with manufacturers and suppliers to select and design its floral, gourmet foods and gift baskets, as well as other gift-related products that accommodate our customers' needs to celebrate a special occasion or convey a sentiment. As part of this continuing effort, the Company intends to continue to develop differentiated products and signature collections that customers have embraced and come to expect, while eliminating marginal
performers from its product offerings.
In each of the last three fiscal years, virtually all of the Company’s revenues have been derived from domestic sources. The Company’s product selection consists of:
Flowers & Plants. The Company offers fresh-cut flowers and floral arrangements for all occasions and holidays, available for same-day delivery. The Company provides its customers with a choice of florist designed products, flowers delivered through its Fresh From Our Growers® program, and unique floral creations from our floral artisans. The Company also offers a wide variety of popular plants to brighten the home and/or office, and accent gardens and landscapes.
Gourmet Foods and Gift Baskets. The Company manufactures premium cookies and baked gift items under the Cheryl’s and Mrs. Beasley’s brands, which are delivered in beautiful and innovative gift baskets and containers, providing customers with a variety of assortments to choose from. The Popcorn Factory brand pops premium popcorn and specialty snack products, while Fannie May Confections Brands manufactures premium chocolate and candy under the Fannie May, Harry London and various private label brand names. During the second quarter of fiscal 2010, the Company launched a new co-branded website which featured the
1-800-BASKETS.COM® brand, a collection of gourmet gift baskets confected by DesignPac. Additionally, through its winetasting.com business, the Company offers its customers an array of different wines from around the world. Currently, restrictions exist in many states regarding interstate shipment of wine. As such, these items are only available in selected states. Many of the Company’s gourmet products are packaged in seasonal, occasion specific or decorative tins, fitting the “giftable” requirement of individual customers, while also adding the capability to customize the tins with corporate logos and other personalized features for the Company’s corporate customers’ gifting needs.
BloomNet Products and Services. The Company’s BloomNet business provides its members with products and services, including: (i) clearinghouse services, consisting of the settlement of orders between sending florists (including the 1-800-Flowers.com brand) and receiving florists, (ii) advertising, in the form of member directories, including the industry’s first on-line directory, (iii) communication services, by which BloomNet florists are able to send and receive orders and communicate between members, using Bloomlink®, the Company’s proprietary electronic communication system, (iv) other services including web
hosting and point of sale, and (v) wholesale products, which consist of branded and non-branded floral supplies, enabling member florists to reduce their costs through 1-800-Flowers purchasing leverage, while also ensuring that member florists will be able to fulfill 1-800-Flowers.com brand orders based on recipe specifications. While maintaining industry-high quality standards for its 1-800-Flowers.com brand customers, the Company offers florists a compelling value proposition, offering products and services that its florists need to grow their business and to enhance profitability.
Marketing and Promotion
The Company’s marketing and promotion strategy is designed to strengthen the 1-800-FLOWERS.COM brands, increase customer acquisition, build customer loyalty, and encourage repeat purchases. The Company’s goal is to make its brands synonymous with thoughtful gifting. To do this, the Company intends to invest in its brands and acquisition of new customers through the use of selective on and off-line media, direct marketing, public relations and strategic Internet relationships, while cost-effectively capitalizing on the Company’s large and loyal customer base.
The Company’s strong appeal and brand recognition provide it with significant marketing opportunities. For example, the Company was featured in an episode of Undercover Boss, providing a great opportunity for all of its brands to receive broad national exposure in front of an estimated 15 million viewers.
Enhance its Customer Relationships. The Company intends to deepen its relationship with its customers and be their trusted resource to fulfill their need for quality, tasteful gifts. It plans to encourage more frequent and extensive use of its branded web sites, by continuing to provide product-related content and interactive features which will enable the Company to reach its customers during non-holiday periods, thereby increasing everyday purchases for birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, and sympathy. Examples of these efforts include the Company’s “Spot-a-Mom” program and Celebration’s
series of books which enhance engagement through customer generated content. In addition, through customer panel research, the 1-800-Flowers.com brand recently introduced a number of new signature products designed to increase everyday purchases, including the successful introduction of the “a DOG-able™” collection, a variety of dog-shaped arrangements of fresh carnations through the 1-800-Flowers brand, which build upon the successful “Birthday Cake” and “Happy Hour” collections. As of July 3, 2011, the Company’s total database of unique customers numbered approximately 36.2 million (18.8 million of which have transacted business with the Company within the past 36 months).
In order to attract new customers and to increase purchase frequency and average order value of existing customers, the Company markets and promotes its brands and products as follows:
Strategic Online Relationships. The Company promotes its products through strategic relationships with leading Internet portals, search engines and online networks. The Company’s online relationships include, among others Facebook, Google, AOL, Yahoo! and Microsoft.
Affiliate and Co-Marketing Promotions. In addition to securing alliances with frequently visited web sites, the Company has developed an affiliate network that includes thousands of web sites operated by third parties. Affiliate participation may be terminated by them or by the Company at any time. These web sites earn commissions on purchases made by customers referred from their sites to the Company’s web site. In order to expand the reach of its marketing programs and stretch its marketing dollars, the Company has established a number of co-marketing relationships and promotions to advertise its
products.
E-mails. The Company is able to capitalize on its customer database of approximately 36.2 million unique customers (18.8 million of which have transacted business with the Company within the past 36 months), by utilizing cost-effective, targeted e-mails to notify customers of product promotions, remind them of upcoming gifting occasions and convey other marketing messages.
Direct Mail and Catalogs. The Company uses its direct mail promotions and catalogs to increase the number of new customers and to increase purchase frequency of its existing customers. Through the use of catalogs, the Company can utilize its extensive customer database to effectively cross-promote its products. In addition to providing a direct sale mechanism, these catalogs drive on-line sales and will attract additional customers to the Company’s web sites. For the year ended July 3, 2011, the Company mailed in excess of 22 million branded catalogs.
Off-line Media. The Company utilizes off-line media, including television, radio and print to market its brands and products. Off-line media allows the Company to reach a large number of customers and to target particular market segments.
The Company’s Web Sites
The Company offers floral, plant, gift baskets, gourmet foods, chocolate and candies, plush and specialty gift products through its co-branded 1-800-FLOWERS.COM (www.1800flowers.com) and 1-800-BASKETS.COM (www.1800baskets.com) web site. Customers can come to the Company’s web sites directly or be linked by one of the Company’s portal providers, search engine, or affiliate relationships. These include AOL (keyword:flowers), Yahoo!, Microsoft and Google, as well as thousands of online affiliate program members and social media sites such as Facebook. The Company also offers premium chocolates and confections from Fannie May Fine Chocolates, (www.fanniemay.com and www.harrylondon.com), premium
popcorn and specialty food products through The Popcorn Factory (www.thepopcornfactory.com), exceptional baked cookies and baked gifts from Cheryl’s (www.cheryls.com), and wine gifts from Winetasting.com, (www.winetasting.com) web sites. The Company’s Fine Stationery premier site (www.finestationery.com) offers customers a vast array of unique, customizable invitations, announcements and greeting cards. More than 70% of online revenues are derived from traffic coming directly to one of the Company’s Universal Resource Locators (“URL’s”).
The Company’s web sites allow customers to easily browse and purchase its products, promote brand loyalty and encourage repeat purchases by providing an inviting customer experience. The Company’s web sites offer customers detailed product information, complete with photographs, personalized shopping services, including search and order tracking, contests, sweepstakes, gift-giving suggestions and reminder programs, party tips and planning, and information about special events and offers. The Company has designed its web sites to be fast, secure and easy to use and allows customers to order products with minimal effort. The Company’s web sites include the following key features in
addition to the variety of delivery and shipping options (same day/next day) and 24 hour/7 day customer service that are available to all its customers.
During fiscal 2012, the Company will begin launching a multi-brand web-site, enabling its customers to access all of its family of brands through “tabs” on one URL.
Technology Infrastructure
The Company believes it has been and continues to be a leader in implementing new technologies and systems to give its customers the best possible shopping experience, whether online or over the telephone. Through the use of customized software applications, the Company is able to retrieve, sort and analyze customer information to enable it to better serve its customers and target its product offerings. The Company’s online and telephonic orders are fed directly from the Company’s secure web sites, or with the assistance of a gift advisor, into a transaction processing system which captures the required customer and recipient information. The system then routes the order to the
appropriate Company distribution center, or for florist fulfilled or drop-shipped items, selects a florist or other vendor to fulfill the customer's order and electronically transmits the necessary information using BloomLink®, the Company’s proprietary communication system, assuring timely delivery. In addition, the Company’s gift advisors have electronic access to this system, enabling them to assist in order fulfillment and subsequently track other customer and/or order information.
The Company’s technology infrastructure, primarily consisting of the Company’s web sites, transaction processing, manufacturing and warehouse management, customer databases and telecommunications systems, is built and maintained for reliability, security, scalability and flexibility. To minimize the risk of service interruptions from unexpected component or telecommunications failure, maintenance and upgrades, the Company has built full back-up and system redundancies into those components of its systems that have been identified as critical.
Fulfillment and Manufacturing Operations
The Company’s customers primarily place their orders either online or over the telephone. The Company’s development of a hybrid fulfillment system, which enables the Company to offer same-day, next-day and any-day delivery, combines the use of BloomNet (comprised of independent florists operating retail flower shops, franchise florist shops and a small number of Company-owned stores), with the Company-owned distribution centers and brand-name vendors who ship directly to the Company’s customers. While providing a significant competitive advantage in terms of delivery options, the Company’s fulfillment system also has the added benefit of reducing the Company’s capital
investments in inventory and infrastructure. All of the Company’s products are backed by a 100% satisfaction guarantee, and the Company’s business is not dependent on any single third-party supplier.
To ensure reliable and efficient communication of online and telephonic orders to its BloomNet members and third party gift vendors, the Company developed BloomLink®, a proprietary and secure internet-based communications system which is available to all BloomNet members and third-party gift vendors. The Company also has the ability to arrange for international delivery of floral products through independent wire services and direct relationships.
Fulfillment and manufacturing of products is as follows:
Flowers and Plants. A majority of the Company’s floral orders are fulfilled by one of the Company’s BloomNet members, allowing the Company to deliver its floral products on a same-day or next-day basis to ensure freshness and to meet its customers’ need for immediate gifting. In addition, the Company is better positioned to ensure consistent product quality and presentation and offer a greater variety of arrangements, which creates a better experience for its customers and gift recipients. The Company selects retail florists for
BloomNet based upon the florist's design staff, facilities, quality of floral processing, and delivery capabilities and allocates orders to members within a geographical area based on historical performance of the florist in fulfilling orders, and the number of BloomNet florists currently serving the area. The Company regularly monitors BloomNet florists’ performance and adherence to the Company’s quality standards to ensure proper fulfillment.
The Company’s relationships with its BloomNet members are non-exclusive. Many florists, including many BloomNet florists, also are members of other floral fulfillment organizations. The BloomNet agreements generally are cancelable by either party with ten days notification and do not guarantee any orders, dollar amounts or exclusive territories from the Company to the florist. In certain instances, the Company is required to fulfill orders through non-BloomNet members, and transmits these orders to the fulfilling florist using the communication system of an independent wire service or via telephone.
In addition to its florist designed product, the Company offers its customers an alternative to florist designed products through its Fresh From Our Growers® program, and by providing for a full array of products from bouquets to unique floral arrangements designed by our floral artisans.
As of July 3, 2011, the Company operates 2 floral retail stores located in New York and 1 fulfillment center. In addition, the Company has over 100 franchised stores, located within the United States. Company-owned stores serve as local points of fulfillment and enable the Company to test new products and marketing programs.
Gourmet Foods and Gift Baskets. In order to take advantage of improved margins, better control quality and to offer premium branded signature products in the Gourmet Food and Gift Baskets product category, the Company has acquired several gourmet food retailers with manufacturing operations. The Company’s premium chocolates are manufactured and distributed from its 189,000 square foot production facility in Akron, Ohio, and the Company’s cookie and baked gifts are fulfilled from its 176,000 square foot baking and distribution center in Obetz, Ohio, while its premium popcorn and related snack products are shipped from
the Company’s 154,000 square foot manufacturing and distribution center located in Lake Forest, Illinois. The Company’s wine gift and fulfillment services are provided through a 68,000 square foot fulfillment center in Napa, California. (In the first quarter of fiscal 2012, the Company completed the sale of certain assets of its WinetastingNetwork wine fulfillment services business, and entered into a fulfillment agreement with the buyer to handle the Company’s direct-to-consumer wine business orders.) Gift basket confection and fulfillment for both wholesale and 1-800-Baskets.com is handled by DesignPac Gifts LLC, through its 249,000 square foot distribution center located in Melrose Park, IL. As of July 3, 2011, the Company operates 85 Fannie May/Harry London and 9 Cheryl’s
retail stores.
Seasonality
The Company’s quarterly results may experience seasonal fluctuations. Due to the Company’s expansion into non-floral products, the Thanksgiving through Christmas holiday season, which falls within the Company’s second fiscal quarter, generates the highest proportion of the Company’s annual revenues. In addition, as the result of a number of major floral gifting occasions, including Mother's Day and Administrative Professionals Week, revenues also rise during the Company’s fiscal fourth quarter. Finally, results during the Company’s fiscal first quarter are negatively impacted by the lack of major gift-giving holidays, and the disproportionate amount of overhead incurred during
this slow period.
Accordingly, a disproportionate amount of operating cash flows are generated in the Company’s fiscal second and fourth quarters. In preparation for the Company’s second quarter holiday season, the Company significantly increases its inventories, and therefore, corresponding cash requirements, which traditionally have been financed by cash flows from operations and bank lines of credit, are highest during the latter part of the Company’s fiscal first quarter, peaking within its second fiscal quarter. The Company has historically repaid all revolving bank lines of credit with cash generated from operations, prior to the end of the Company’s fiscal second quarter.
Competition
The growing popularity and convenience of e-commerce has continued to give rise to established businesses on the Internet. In addition to selling their products over the Internet, many of these retailers sell their products through a combination of channels by maintaining a web site, a toll-free phone number and physical locations. Additionally, several of these merchants offer an expanding variety of products and some are attracting an increasing number of customers. Certain mass merchants have expanded their offerings to include competing products and may continue to do so in the future. These mass merchants, as well as other potential competitors, may be able to:
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undertake more extensive marketing campaigns for their brands and services;
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adopt more aggressive pricing policies; and
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make more attractive offers to potential employees, distributors and retailers.
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In addition, the Company faces intense competition in each of its individual product categories. In the floral industry, there are various providers of floral products, none of which is dominant in the industry. The Company’s competitors include:
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retail floral shops, some of which maintain toll-free telephone numbers and web sites;
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online floral retailers;
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catalog companies that offer floral products;
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floral telemarketers and wire services; and
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supermarkets, mass merchants and specialty retailers with floral departments.
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Similarly, the plant, gift basket, gourmet foods and wine categories are highly competitive. Each of these categories encompasses a wide range of products, is highly fragmented and is served by a large number of companies, none of which is dominant. Products in these categories may be purchased from a number of outlets, including mass merchants, telemarketers, retail specialty shops, online retailers and mail-order catalogs.
The Company believes the strength of its brands, product selection, customer relationships, technology infrastructure and fulfillment capabilities position it to compete effectively against its current and potential competitors in each of its product categories. However, increased competition could result in:
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price reductions, decreased revenues and lower profit margins;
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loss of market share; and
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increased marketing expenditures.
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These and other competitive factors may adversely impact the Company’s business and results of operations.
Government Regulation and Legal Uncertainties
The Internet continues to evolve and there are laws and regulations directly applicable to e-commerce. Legislatures are also considering an increasing number of laws and regulations pertaining to the Internet, including laws and regulations addressing:
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characteristics and quality of products and services.
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Further, the growth and development of the market for online services may prompt more stringent consumer protection laws that may impose additional burdens on those companies conducting business online. The adoption of any additional laws or regulations may impair the growth of the Internet or commercial online services. This could decrease the demand for the Company’s services and increase its cost of doing business. Moreover, the applicability to the Internet of existing laws regarding issues like property ownership, taxes, libel and personal privacy is uncertain. Any new legislation or regulation that has an adverse impact on the Internet or the application of existing laws and regulations to the Internet
could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition and results of operations.
States or foreign countries might attempt to regulate the Company’s business or levy additional sales or other taxes relating to its activities. Because the Company’s products and services are available over the Internet anywhere in the world, multiple jurisdictions may claim that the Company is required to do business as a foreign corporation in one or more of those jurisdictions. Failure to qualify as a foreign corporation in a jurisdiction where the Company is required to do so could subject it to taxes and penalties. States or foreign governments may charge the Company with violations of local laws.
Intellectual Property and Proprietary Rights
The Company regards its service marks, trademarks, trade secrets, domain names and similar intellectual property as critical to its success. The Company has applied for or received trademark and/or service mark registration for, among others, “1-800-FLOWERS.COM”, “1-800-FLOWERS”, “1-800-Baskets”, “GreatFood.com”, “The Popcorn Factory”, “TheGift.com”, “Geerlings & Wade”, “Cheryl’s”, “Mrs. Beasley’s”, “Celebrations”, “FineStationery.com”, “DesignPac”, “Napco”, “Fannie May” and “Harry London”. The Company also has
rights to numerous domain names, including www.1800flowers.com, www.800flowers.com, www.1800baskets.com, www.flowers.com, www.greatfood.com, www.thepopcornfactory.com, www.ambrosiawine.com, www.winetasting.com, www.finestationery.com, www.cheryls.com, www.fanniemay.com, www.harrylondon.com, www.geerwade.com, www.celebrations.com, www.designpac.com, www.mybloomnet.net, and www.napcoimports.com. In addition, the Company has developed transaction processing and operating systems as well as marketing data, and customer and recipient information databases.
The Company relies on trademark, unfair competition and copyright law, trade secret protection and contracts such as confidentiality and license agreements with its employees, customers, vendors and others to protect its proprietary rights. Despite the Company’s precautions, it may be possible for competitors to obtain and/or use the Company’s proprietary information without authorization or to develop technologies similar to the Company’s and independently create a similarly functioning infrastructure. Furthermore, the protection of proprietary rights in Internet-related industries is uncertain and still evolving. The laws of some foreign countries do not protect
proprietary rights to the same extent as do the laws of the United States. The Company’s means of protecting its proprietary rights in the United States or abroad may not be adequate.
The Company intends to continue to license technology from third parties, including Oracle, Microsoft, IBM, Verizon and AT&T, for its communications technology and the software that underlies its business systems. The market is evolving and the Company may need to license additional technologies to remain competitive. The Company may not be able to license these technologies on commercially reasonable terms or at all.
Third parties have in the past infringed or misappropriated the Company’s intellectual property or similar proprietary rights. The Company believes infringements and misappropriations will continue to occur in the future. The Company intends to police against infringement and misappropriation. However, the Company cannot guarantee it will be able to enforce its rights and enjoin the alleged infringers from their use of confusingly similar trademarks, service marks, telephone numbers and domain names.
In addition, third parties may assert infringement claims against the Company. The Company cannot be certain that its technologies or its products and services do not infringe valid patents, trademarks, copyrights or other proprietary rights held by third parties. The Company may be subject to legal proceedings and claims from time to time relating to its intellectual property and the intellectual property of others in the ordinary course of its business. Intellectual property litigation is expensive and time-consuming and could divert management resources away from running the Company’s business.
Employees
As of July 3, 2011, the Company had a total of approximately 2,300 full and part-time employees. During peak periods, the Company substantially increases the number of customer service, manufacturing and retail and fulfillment personnel. The Company’s personnel are not represented under collective bargaining agreements and the Company considers its relations with its employees to be good.
Item 1A. Risk Factors
Cautionary Statements Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
Our disclosures and analysis in this Form 10-K contain some forward-looking statements that set forth anticipated results based on management’s plans and assumptions. From time to time, we also provide forward-looking statements in other statements we release to the public as well as oral forward-looking statements. Such statements give our current expectations or forecasts of future events; they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. We have tried, wherever possible, to identify such statements by using words such as “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “project,” “intend,” “plan, “believe” and similar expressions
in connection with any discussion of future operating or financial performance. In particular, these include statements relating to future actions; the effectiveness of our marketing programs; the performance of our existing products and services; our ability to attract and retain customers and expand our customer base; our ability to enter into or renew online marketing agreements; our ability to respond to competitive pressures; expenses, including shipping costs and the costs of marketing our current and future products and services; the outcome of contingencies, including legal proceedings in the normal course of business; and our ability to integrate acquisitions.
We cannot guarantee that any forward-looking statement will be realized, although we believe we have been prudent in our plans and assumptions. Achievement of future results is subject to risk, uncertainties and potentially inaccurate assumptions. Should known or unknown risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove inaccurate, actual results could differ materially from past results and those anticipated, estimated or projected. You should bear this in mind as you consider forward looking statements.
We undertake no obligation to publicly update forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. You are advised, however, to consult any further disclosures we make on related subjects in our 10-Q and 8-K reports to the SEC. Also note we provide the following cautionary discussion of risks, uncertainties and possibly inaccurate assumptions relevant to our business. These are factors that, individually or in the aggregate, we think could cause our actual results to differ materially from expected and historical results. We note these factors for investors as permitted by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
The financial and credit markets have been and continue to experience unprecedented disruption, which may have an adverse effect on our customers’ spending patterns and in turn our business, financial condition and results of operations. Consumer spending patterns are difficult to predict and are sensitive to the general economic climate, the consumer’s level of disposable income, consumer debt, and overall consumer confidence. The ongoing global financial crisis affecting the banking system and financial markets has resulted in a low level of consumer confidence. During the past few years, the volatility and disruption
in the financial markets have reached unprecedented levels. This financial crisis has impacted and may continue to impact our business in a number of ways. Included among these current and potential future negative impacts are reduced demand and lower prices for our products and services. We are currently operating in challenging macroeconomic conditions, which may continue during fiscal 2012.
The Company’s operating results may fluctuate, and this fluctuation could cause financial results to be below expectations. The Company’s operating results may fluctuate from period to period for a number of reasons. In budgeting the Company’s operating expenses for the foreseeable future, the Company makes assumptions regarding revenue trends; however, some of the Company’s operating expenses are fixed in the short term. Sales of the Company’s products are seasonal, concentrated in the fourth calendar quarter, due to the Thanksgiving and Christmas-time holidays, and the second calendar quarter, due to Mother's Day
and Administrative Professionals’ Week. In anticipation of increased sales activity during these periods, the Company hires a significant number of temporary employees to supplement its permanent staff and the Company increases its inventory levels. If revenues during these periods do not meet the Company’s expectations, it may not generate sufficient revenue to offset these increased costs and its operating results may suffer.
The Company’s quarterly operating results may significantly fluctuate and you should not rely on them as an indication of its future results. The Company’s future revenues and results of operations may significantly fluctuate due to a combination of factors, many of which are outside of management’s control. The most important of these factors include:
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the timing and effectiveness of marketing programs;
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the timing of the introduction of new products and services;
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the Company’s ability to find and maintain reliable sources for certain of its products;
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the timing and effectiveness of capital expenditures;
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the Company’s ability to enter into or renew online marketing agreements; and
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The Company may be unable to reduce operating expenses quickly enough to offset any unexpected revenue shortfall. If the Company has a shortfall in revenue without a corresponding reduction to its expenses, operating results may suffer. The Company’s operating results for any particular quarter may not be indicative of future operating results. You should not rely on quarter-to-quarter comparisons of results of operations as an indication of the Company’s future performance. It is possible that results of operations may be below the expectations of public market analysts and investors, which could cause the trading price of the Company’s Class A common stock to fall.
Consumer spending on flowers, gifts and other products sold by the Company may vary with general economic conditions. If general economic conditions continue to deteriorate and the Company’s customers have less disposable income, consumers may spend less on its products and its quarterly operating results may suffer.
During peak periods, the Company utilizes temporary employees and outsourced staff, who may not be as well-trained or committed to its customers as its permanent employees, and if they fail to provide the Company’s customers with high quality customer service the customers may not return, which could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. The Company depends on its customer service department to respond to its customers should they have questions or problems with their orders. During peak periods, the Company relies on its permanent employees, as well as
temporary employees and outsourced staff to respond to customer inquiries. These temporary employees and outsourced staff may not have the same level of commitment to the Company’s customers or be as well trained as its permanent employees. If the Company’s customers are dissatisfied with the quality of the customer service they receive, they may not shop with the Company again, which could have a material adverse effect on its business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
If the Company’s customers do not find its expanded product lines appealing, revenues may not grow and net income may decrease. The Company’s business historically has focused on offering floral and floral-related gift products. Although the Company has been successful in its expanded product lines including plants, gift baskets, popcorn, gourmet food and wine and unique or specialty gifts, it expects to continue to incur significant costs in marketing these products. If the Company’s customers do not continue to find its product lines appealing, the Company may not generate sufficient revenue to offset its related
costs and its results of operations may be negatively impacted.
If the Company fails to develop and maintain its brands, it may not increase or maintain its customer base or its revenues. The Company must continue to develop and maintain the 1-800-FLOWERS.COM brands to expand its customer base and its revenues. In addition, the Company has introduced and acquired other brands in the past, and may continue to do so in the future. The Company believes that the importance of brand recognition will increase as it expands its product offerings. Many of the Company’s customers may not be aware of the Company’s non-floral products. If the Company fails to advertise and market its
products effectively, it may not succeed in establishing its brands and may lose customers leading to a reduction of revenues.
The Company’s success in promoting and enhancing the 1-800-FLOWERS.COM brands will also depend on its success in providing its customers high-quality products and a high level of customer service. If the Company’s customers do not perceive its products and services to be of high quality, the value of the 1-800-FLOWERS.COM brands would be diminished and the Company may lose customers and its revenues may decline.
A failure to establish and maintain strategic online relationships that generate a significant amount of traffic could limit the growth of the Company’s business. Although the Company expects a significant portion of its online customers will continue to come directly to its website, it will also rely on third party web sites, search engines and affililates with which the Company has strategic relationships for traffic. If these third-parties do not attract a significant number of visitors, the Company may not receive a significant number of online customers from these relationships and its revenues from these relationships may decrease or remain
flat. There continues to be strong competition to establish or maintain relationships with leading Internet companies, and the Company may not successfully enter into additional relationships, or renew existing ones beyond their current terms. The Company may also be required to pay significant fees to maintain and expand existing relationships. The Company’s online revenues may suffer if it does not enter into new relationships or maintain existing relationships or if these relationships do not result in traffic sufficient to justify their costs.
If local florists and other third-party vendors do not fulfill orders to the Company’s customers' satisfaction, customers may not shop with the Company again. In many cases, floral orders placed by the Company’s customers are fulfilled by local independent florists, a majority of which are members of BloomNet. The Company does not directly control any of these florists. In addition, many of the non-floral products sold by the Company are manufactured and delivered to its customers by independent third-party vendors. If customers are dissatisfied with the performance of the local florist or other third-party vendors, they may not
utilize the Company’s services when placing future orders and its revenues may decrease.
If a florist discontinues its relationship with the Company, the Company’s customers may experience delays in service or declines in quality and may not shop with the Company again. Many of the Company’s arrangements with local florists for order fulfillment may be terminated by either party with 10 days notice. If a florist discontinues its relationship with the Company, the Company will be required to obtain a suitable replacement located in the same geographic area, which may cause delays in delivery or a decline in quality, leading to customer dissatisfaction and loss of customers.
If a significant number of customers are not satisfied with their purchase, the Company will be required to incur substantial costs to issue refunds, credits or replacement products. The Company offers its customers a 100% satisfaction guarantee on its products. If customers are not satisfied with the products they receive, the Company will either replace the product for the customer or issue the customer a refund or credit. The Company’s net income would decrease if a significant number of customers request replacement products, refunds or credits and the Company is unable to pass such costs onto the supplier.
Increased shipping costs and labor stoppages may adversely affect sales of the Company’s products. Many of the Company's products are delivered to customers either directly from the manufacturer or from the Company’s fulfillment centers located in California, Illinois, New York, Ohio and Florida. The Company has established relationships with Federal Express, UPS and other common carriers for the delivery of these products. If these carriers were to increase the prices they charge to ship the Company’s goods, and the Company passes these increases on to its customers, its customers might choose to buy comparable products locally
to avoid shipping charges. In addition, these carriers may experience labor stoppages, which could impact the Company’s ability to deliver products on a timely basis to our customers and adversely affect its customer relationships.
If the Company fails to continuously improve its web site, it may not attract or retain customers. If potential or existing customers do not find the Company’s web site a convenient place to shop, the Company may not attract or retain customers and its sales may suffer. To encourage the use of the Company’s web site, it must continuously improve its accessibility, content and ease of use. Customer traffic and the Company’s business would be adversely affected if competitors' web sites are perceived as easier to use or better able to satisfy customer needs.
Competition in the floral, plant, gift basket, gourmet food and wine, and specialty gift industries is intense and a failure to respond to competitive pressure could result in lost revenues. There are many companies that offer products in these categories. In the floral category, the Company’s competitors include:
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retail floral shops, some of which maintain toll-free telephone numbers, and web sites;
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online floral retailers;
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catalog companies that offer floral products;
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floral telemarketers and wire services; and
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supermarkets, mass merchants and specialty gift retailers with floral departments.
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Similarly, the plant, gift basket, gourmet food, cookie, candy, wine, and specialty gift categories are highly competitive. Each of these categories encompasses a wide range of products and is highly fragmented. Products in these categories may be purchased from a number of outlets, including mass merchants, retail shops, online retailers and mail-order catalogs.
Competition is intense and the Company expects it to increase. Increased competition could result in:
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price reductions, decreased revenue and lower profit margins;
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loss of market share; and
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increased marketing expenditures.
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These and other competitive factors could materially and adversely affect the Company’s results of operations.
If the Company does not accurately predict customer demand for its products, it may lose customers or experience increased costs. In the past, the Company did not need to maintain a significant inventory of products. However, as the Company expands the volume of non-floral products offered to its customers, the Company will be required to increase inventory levels and the number of products maintained in its warehouses. If the Company overestimates customer demand for its products, excess inventory and outdated merchandise could accumulate, tying up working capital and potentially resulting in reduced warehouse capacity and inventory
losses due to damage, theft and obsolescence. If the Company underestimates customer demand, it may disappoint customers who may turn to its competitors. Moreover, the strength of the 1-800-FLOWERS.COM brands could be diminished due to misjudgments in merchandise selection.
If the supply of flowers for sale becomes limited, the price of flowers could rise or flowers may be unavailable and the Company’s revenues and gross margins could decline. A variety of factors affect the supply of flowers in the United States and the price of the Company’s floral products. If the supply of flowers available for sale is limited due to weather conditions, farm closures, economic conditions, or other factors, prices for flowers could rise and customer demand for the Company’s floral products may be reduced, causing revenues and gross margins to decline. Alternatively, the Company may not be able to
obtain high quality flowers in an amount sufficient to meet customer demand. Even if available, flowers from alternative sources may be of lesser quality and/or may be more expensive than those currently offered by the Company.
Most of the flowers sold in the United States are grown by farmers located abroad, primarily in Colombia, Ecuador and Holland, and the Company expects that this will continue in the future. The availability and price of flowers could be affected by a number of factors affecting these regions, including:
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import duties and quotas;
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agricultural limitations and restrictions to manage pests and disease;
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changes in trading status;
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economic uncertainties and currency fluctuations;
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foreign government regulations and political unrest; and
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trade restrictions, including United States retaliation against foreign trade practices.
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The Company’s franchisees may damage its brands or increase its costs by failing to comply with its franchise agreements or its operating standards. The Company’s franchise business is governed by its Uniform Franchise Disclosure Document, franchise agreements and applicable franchise law. If the Company’s franchisees do not comply with its established operating standards or the terms of the franchise agreements, the 1-800-FLOWERS.COM brands may be damaged. The Company may incur significant additional costs, including time-consuming and expensive litigation, to enforce its rights under the franchise agreements. Additionally, the Company is
the primary tenant on certain leases, which the franchisees sublease from the Company. If a franchisee fails to meet its obligations as subtenant, the Company could incur significant costs to avoid default under the primary lease. Furthermore, as a franchiser, the Company has obligations to its franchisees. Franchisees may challenge the performance of the Company’s obligations under the franchise agreements and subject it to costs in defending these claims and, if the claims are successful, costs in connection with their compliance.
If third parties acquire rights to use similar domain names or phone numbers or if the Company loses the right to use its phone numbers, its brands may be damaged and it may lose sales. The Company’s Internet domain names are an important aspect of its brand recognition. The Company cannot practically acquire rights to all domain names similar to www.1800flowers.com, or its other brands, whether under existing top level domains or those issued in the future. If third parties obtain rights to similar domain names, these third parties may confuse the Company’s customers and cause its customers to inadvertently place
orders with these third parties, which could result in lost sales and could damage its brands.
Likewise, the phone number that spells 1-800-FLOWERS is important to the Company’s brand and its business. While the Company has obtained the right to use the phone numbers 1-800-FLOWERS, 1-888-FLOWERS and 1-877-FLOWERS, as well as common toll-free "FLOWERS" misdials, it may not be able to obtain rights to use the FLOWERS phone number as new toll-free prefixes are issued, or the rights to all similar and potentially confusing numbers. If third parties obtain the phone number which spells "FLOWERS" with a different prefix or a toll-free number similar to FLOWERS, these parties may also confuse the Company’s customers and cause lost sales and potential damage to its brands. In addition, under
applicable FCC rules, ownership rights to phone numbers cannot be acquired. Accordingly, the FCC may rescind the Company’s right to use any of its phone numbers, including 1-800-FLOWERS (1-800-356-9377).
A lack of security over the Internet may cause Internet usage to decline and cause the Company to expend capital and resources to protect against security breaches. A significant barrier to electronic commerce over the Internet has been the need for secure transmission of confidential information and transaction information. Internet usage could decline if any well-publicized compromise of security occurred. Additionally, computer “viruses” may cause the Company’s systems to incur delays or experience other service interruptions. Such interruptions may materially impact the Company’s ability to operate
its business. If a computer virus affecting the Internet in general is highly publicized or particularly damaging, the Company’s customers may not use the Internet or may be prevented from using the Internet, which would have an adverse effect on its revenues. As a result, the Company may be required to expend capital and resources to protect against or to alleviate these problems.
The Company’s business could be injured by significant credit card, debit card and gift card fraud. Customers typically pay for their on-line or telephone orders with debit or credit cards as well as a portion of their orders using gift cards. The Company’s revenues and gross margins could decrease if it experienced significant credit card, debit card and gift card fraud. Failure to adequately detect and avoid fraudulent credit card, debit card and gift card transactions could cause the Company to lose its ability to accept credit cards or debit cards as forms of payment and/or result in charge-backs of the fraudulently
charged amounts and/or significantly decrease revenues. Furthermore, widespread credit card, debit card and gift card fraud may lessen the Company’s customers’ willingness to purchase products through the Company’s web sites or toll-free telephone numbers. For this reason, such failure could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Unexpected system interruptions caused by system failures may result in reduced revenues and harm to the Company’s brand. In the past, particularly during peak holiday periods, the Company has experienced significant increases in traffic on its web site and in its toll-free customer service centers. The Company’s operations are dependent on its ability to maintain its computer and telecommunications systems in effective working order and to protect its systems against damage from fire, natural disaster, power loss, telecommunications failure or similar events. The Company’s systems have in the past, and may
in the future, experience:
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long response times; and
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degradation in service.
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The Company’s business depends on customers making purchases on its systems. Its revenues may decrease and its reputation could be harmed if it experiences frequent or long system delays or interruptions or if a disruption occurs during a peak holiday season.
If the Company’s telecommunications providers do not adequately maintain the Company’s telephone service, the Company may experience system failures and its revenues may decrease. The Company is dependent on telecommunication providers to provide telephone services to its customer service centers. Although the Company maintains redundant telecommunications systems, if these providers experience system failures or fail to adequately maintain the Company’s systems, the Company may experience interruptions and its customers might not continue to utilize its services. If the Company loses its telephone service,
it will be unable to generate revenue. The Company’s future success depends upon these third-party relationships because it does not have the resources to maintain its telephone service without these or other third parties. Failure to maintain these relationships or replace them on financially attractive terms may disrupt the Company’s operations or require it to incur significant unanticipated costs.
Interruptions in Teleflora’s Dove System or a reduction in the Company’s access to this system may disrupt order fulfillment and create customer dissatisfaction. A minimal portion of the Company’s customers' orders are communicated to the fulfilling florist through a third party system. This system is an order processing and messaging network used to facilitate the transmission of floral orders between florists. If this system experiences interruptions in the future, the Company could experience difficulties in fulfilling some of its customers' orders and those customers might not continue to shop with the
Company.
The Company's operating results may suffer due to economic, political and social unrest or disturbances. Like other American businesses, the Company is unable to predict what long-term effect acts of terrorism, war, or similar unforeseen events may have on its business. The Company’s results of operations and financial condition could be adversely impacted if such events cause an economic slowdown in the United States, or other negative effects that cannot now be anticipated.
If the Company is unable to hire and retain key personnel, its business may suffer. The Company’s success is dependent on its ability to hire, retain and motivate highly qualified personnel. In particular, the Company’s success depends on the continued efforts of its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, James F. McCann, and its President, Christopher G. McCann, as well as its senior management team which help manage its business. The loss of the services of any of the Company’s executive management or key personnel or its inability to attract qualified additional personnel could cause its business to suffer
and force it to expend time and resources in locating and training additional personnel.
Many governmental regulations may impact the Internet, which could affect the Company’s ability to conduct business. Any new law or regulation, or the application or interpretation of existing laws, may decrease the growth in the use of the Internet or the Company’s web site. The Company expects there will be an increasing number of laws and regulations pertaining to the Internet in the United States and throughout the world. These laws or regulations may relate to liability for information received from or transmitted over the Internet, online content regulation, user privacy, taxation and quality of products and services
sold over the Internet. Moreover, the applicability to the Internet of existing laws governing intellectual property ownership and infringement, copyright, trademark, trade secret, obscenity, libel, employment, personal privacy and other issues is uncertain and developing. This could decrease the demand for the Company’s products, increase its costs or otherwise adversely affect its business.
Regulations imposed by the Federal Trade Commission may adversely affect the growth of the Company’s Internet business or its marketing efforts. The Federal Trade Commission has proposed regulations regarding the collection and use of personal identifying information obtained from individuals when accessing web sites, with particular emphasis on access by minors. These regulations may include requirements that the Company establish procedures to disclose and notify users of privacy and security policies, obtain consent from users for collection and use of information and provide users with the ability to access, correct and delete
personal information stored by the Company. These regulations may also include enforcement and redress provisions. Moreover, even in the absence of those regulations, the Federal Trade Commission has begun investigations into the privacy practices of other companies that collect information on the Internet. One investigation resulted in a consent decree under which an Internet company agreed to establish programs to implement the principles noted above. The Company may become a party to a similar investigation, or the Federal Trade Commission's regulatory and enforcement efforts, or those of other governmental bodies, may adversely affect its ability to collect demographic and personal information from users, which could adversely affect its marketing efforts.
Unauthorized use of the Company’s intellectual property by third parties may damage its brands. Unauthorized use of the Company’s intellectual property by third parties may damage its brands and its reputation and may likely result in a loss of customers. It may be possible for third parties to obtain and use the Company’s intellectual property without authorization. Third parties have in the past infringed or misappropriated the Company’s intellectual property or similar proprietary rights. The Company believes infringements and misappropriations will continue to occur in the future.
Furthermore, the validity, enforceability and scope of protection of intellectual property in Internet-related industries is uncertain and still evolving. The Company has been unable to register certain of its intellectual property in some foreign countries and furthermore, the laws of some foreign countries are uncertain or do not protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as do the laws of the United States.
Defending against intellectual property infringement claims could be expensive and, if the Company is not successful, could disrupt its ability to conduct business. The Company has been unable to register certain of its intellectual properties in some foreign countries, including, “1-800-Flowers.com”, “1-800-Flowers” and “800-Flowers”. The Company cannot be certain that the products it sells, or services it offers, do not or will not infringe valid patents, trademarks, copyrights or other intellectual property rights held by third parties. The Company may be a party to legal proceedings and claims
relating to the intellectual property of others from time to time in the ordinary course of its business. The Company may incur substantial expense in defending against these third-party infringement claims, regardless of their merit. Successful infringement claims against the Company may result in substantial monetary liability or may materially disrupt its ability to conduct business.
The Company does not collect sales or consumption taxes in some jurisdictions. In addition to the Company’s retail store operations, the Company collects sales or other similar taxes in states where the Company’s ecommerce channel has applicable nexus. Our customer service and fulfillment networks, and any further expansion of those networks, along with other aspects of our evolving business, may result in additional sales and use tax
obligations. Currently, U.S. Supreme Court decisions restrict the imposition of obligations to collect state and local sales taxes with respect to remote sales. However, an increasing number of states have considered or adopted laws that attempt to impose obligations on out-of-state retailers to collect taxes on their behalf. A successful assertion by one or more states that we should collect sales or other taxes where we do not do so could result in substantial tax liabilities, including for past sales, penalties and interest, as well as decrease our ability to compete with traditional retailers, and otherwise harm our business.
A failure to integrate our acquisitions may cause the results of the acquired company, as well as the results of the Company to suffer. The Company has opportunistically acquired a number of companies over the past several years. Additionally the Company may look to acquire additional companies in the future. As part of the acquisition process, the Company embarks upon a project management effort to integrate the acquisition onto our information technology systems and management processes. If we are unsuccessful in integrating our acquisitions, the results of our acquisitions may
suffer, management may have to divert valuable resources to oversee and manage the acquisitions, the Company may have to expend additional investments in the acquired company to upgrade personnel and/or information technology systems and the results of the Company may suffer.
Product liability claims may subject the Company to increased costs. Several of the products the Company sells, including perishable food and alcoholic beverage products may expose it to product liability claims in the event that the use or consumption of these products results in personal injury or property damage. Although the Company has not experienced any material losses due to product liability claims to date, it may be a party to product liability claims in the future and incur significant costs in their defense. Product liability claims often create negative publicity, which could materially damage the Company’s reputation and its
brands. Although the Company maintains insurance against product liability claims, its coverage may be inadequate to cover any liabilities it may incur.
The wine industry is subject to governmental regulation. The alcoholic beverage industry is subject to extensive specialized regulation under state and federal laws and regulations, including the following matters: licensing; the payment of excise taxes; advertising, trade and pricing practices; product labeling; sales to minors and intoxicated persons; changes in officers, directors, ownership or control; and, relationships among product producers, importers, wholesalers and retailers. While the Company believes that it is in material compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, in the event that it should be determined that the Company is not in
compliance with any applicable laws or regulations, the Company could become subject to cease and desist orders, injunctive proceedings, civil fines, license revocations and other penalties which could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business and its results of operations.
In addition, the alcoholic beverage industry is subject to potential legislation and regulation on a continuous basis including in such areas as direct and Internet sales of alcohol. Certain states still prohibit the sale of alcohol into their jurisdictions from out of state wineries and/or retailers. There can be no assurance that new or revised laws or regulations, increased licensing fees, specialized taxes or other regulatory requirements will not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business and its results of operations. While, to date, the Company has been able to obtain and retain licenses necessary to sell wine at retail, the failure to obtain renewals or otherwise retain such
licenses in one or more of the states in which the Company operates would have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business and its results of operations. The Company’s growth strategy for its wine business includes expansion into additional states; however, there can be no assurance that the Company will be successful in obtaining the required permits or licenses in any additional states. From time to time, the Company may introduce new marketing initiatives, which may be expected to undergo regulatory scrutiny. There can be no assurance that such initiatives will not be stymied by regulatory criticism.
The Company is dependent on common carriers to deliver its wine shipments. The company uses UPS and FedEx to deliver its wine shipments. If UPS or FedEx were to terminate delivery services for alcoholic beverages in certain states, as it did in 1999 in Florida, Nevada and Connecticut, the Company would likely incur significantly higher shipping rates that would have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business and its results of operations. If any state prohibits or limits intrastate shipping of alcoholic beverages by third party couriers, the Company would likely incur significantly higher shipping rates that would have a material
adverse effect on the Company’s business and its results of operations.
There are various health issues regarding wine consumption. Since 1989, federal law has required health-warning labels on all alcoholic beverages. Although an increasing number of research studies suggest that health benefits may result from the moderate consumption of wine, these suggestions have been widely challenged and a number of groups advocate increased governmental action to restrict consumption of alcoholic beverages. Restrictions on the sale and consumption of wine or increases in the taxes imposed on wine in response to concerns regarding health issues may have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business and operating results. There
can be no assurance that there will not be legal or regulatory challenges to the industry as a whole, and any such legal or regulatory challenge may have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business and results of operations.
The price at which the Company’s Class A common stock will trade may be highly volatile and may fluctuate substantially. The stock market has from time to time experienced price and volume fluctuations that have affected the market prices of securities, particularly securities of companies with Internet operations. As a result, investors may experience a material decline in the market price of the Company’s Class A common stock, regardless of the Company’s operating performance. In the past, following periods of volatility in the market price of a particular company's securities, securities class action litigation has often been
brought against that company. The Company may become involved in this type of litigation in the future. Litigation of this type is often expensive and diverts management's attention and resources and could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business and its results of operations.
Additional Information
The Company’s internet address is www.1800flowers.com. We make available, through the investor relations tab located on our website at www.1800flowersinc.com, access to our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and any amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 as soon as reasonably practicable after they are electronically filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission. All such filings on our investor relations website are available free of charge. (The information posted on the Company’s website is not incorporated into this Annual Report of Form
10-K.)
A copy of this annual report on Form 10-K is available without charge upon written request to: Investor Relations, 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc., One Old Country Road, Suite 500, Carle Place, NY 11514. In addition, the SEC maintains a website (http://www.sec.gov) that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC.
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments
We have received no written comments regarding our current or periodic reports from the staff of the SEC that were issued 180 days or more preceding the end of our fiscal year ended July 3, 2011 that remain unresolved.
Item 2. PROPERTIES
|
Location
|
Type
|
Principal Use
|
|
Square
Footage
|
|
Ownership
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Commerce, CA
|
Office
|
Administrative
|
|
|
500 |
|
leased
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Napa, CA
|
Office and warehouse
|
Distribution, administrative and customer service
|
|
|
68,000 |
|
leased
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Wilmington, DE
|
Office and warehouse
|
Distribution, administrative and customer service
|
|
|
27,000 |
|
leased
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jacksonville, FL
|
Office and warehouse
|
Distribution and administrative
|
|
|
180,000 |
|
owned
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lake Forest, IL
|
Office, plant and warehouse
|
Manufacturing, distribution and administrative
|
|
|
148,000 |
|
leased
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Melrose Park, IL
|
Office and warehouse
|
Distribution, administrative and customer service
|
|
|
249,000 |
|
leased
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reno, NV
|
Warehouse
|
Distribution
|
|
|
50,000 |
|
leased
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Carle Place, NY
|
Office
|
Headquarters and customer service
|
|
|
92,000 |
|
leased
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bethpage, NY
|
Warehouse
|
Distribution
|
|
|
35,000 |
|
leased
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Akron, OH
|
Office, plant and warehouse
|
Manufacturing, distribution and administrative
|
|
|
189,000 |
|
leased
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Maple Heights, OH
|
Warehouse
|
Distribution
|
|
|
165,000 |
|
leased
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obetz, OH
|
Warehouse
|
Distribution
|
|
|
176,000 |
|
leased
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Westerville, OH
|
Office, plant and warehouse
|
Manufacturing, distribution and administrative
|
|
|
150,000 |
|
owned
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Albany, NY (*)
|
Warehouse
|
Distribution
|
|
|
42,000 |
|
leased
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ardmore, OK (**)
|
Office
|
Customer service
|
|
|
24,000 |
|
leased
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chicago, IL (***)
|
Office
|
Administrative and customer service
|
|
|
18,000 |
|
leased
|
|
|
(*) Facility was closed in December 2010.
|
|
|
(**) Facility was closed during August 2008 and lease term expired November 30, 2010.
|
|
|
(***) Facility was closed during July 2010.
|
In addition to the above properties, the Company leases approximately 214,000 square feet for owned or franchised retail stores and local fulfillment centers with lease terms typically ranging from 5 to 20 years. Some of its leases provide for a minimum rent plus a percentage rent based upon sales after certain minimum thresholds are achieved. The leases generally require the Company to pay insurance, utilities, real estate taxes and repair and maintenance expenses. In general, our properties are well maintained, adequate and suitable for their purposes.
Item 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
From time to time, the Company is subject to legal proceedings and claims arising in the ordinary course of business.
On December 21, 2007, Plaintiff, Thomas Molnar, on behalf of himself and a putative class, filed suit against the Company claiming false advertising, unfair business practices, and unjust enrichment seeking unspecified monetary damages. The Company admitted to no wrongdoing with respect to this matter, but entered into a settlement agreement with the parties to this matter in order to avoid protracted litigation. The presiding trial Judge’s Order Granting Final Approval of the Class Action Settlement and Entry of Judgment was issued May 17, 2010. The Company has sent out the applicable notices to the class members, and the Company provided for the cost of the settlement of approximately $0.9
million within its general and administrative expenses in fiscal 2010.
On November 10, 2010, a purported class action complaint was filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York naming the Company (along with Trilegiant Corporation, Inc., Affinion, Inc. and Chase Bank USA, N.A.) as defendants in an action purporting to assert claims against the Company alleging violations arising under the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act among other statutes, and for breach of contract and unjust enrichment in connection with certain post-transaction marketing practices in which certain of the Company’s subsidiaries previously engaged with certain third-party vendors. Plaintiffs seek to have this case certified as a class
action and seek restitution and other damages, all in an amount in excess of $5 million. The Company intends to defend this action vigorously.
In 2009, the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation commenced an investigation of post-transaction marketing practices and the Company was one of many involved in that investigation. The Company fully complied with all requests from the committee. In addition, the Company received a civil investigative demand from the Attorney General of the State of New York regarding the same activities. The Company fully complied with that investigation, supplied the information sought and voluntarily entered into an Assurance of Discontinuance with the Attorney General’s Office in December 2010. As part of the resolution of that matter, the Company paid the sum of $325,000 to a
fund to be used for consumer education, consumer redress and costs and fees of the investigation.
There are no assurances that additional legal actions will not be instituted in connection with the Company’s former post-transaction marketing practices involving third party vendors nor can we predict the outcome of any such legal action.
Item 4. REMOVED AND RESERVED
EXECUTIVE OFFICERS OF THE REGISTRANT
The following individuals were serving as executive officers of the Company and certain of its subsidiaries on September 16, 2011:
|
Name
|
Age
|
|
Position with the Company
|
| |
|
|
|
|
James F. McCann…………………………...
|
60
|
|
Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
|
|
Christopher G. McCann……………………
|
50
|
|
Director, President, 1-800-Flowers.com, Inc. and President, Floral Group
|
|
Stephen J. Bozzo…………………………....
|
56
|
|
Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer
|
|
Gerard M. Gallagher…………………..........
|
58
|
|
Senior Vice President of Business Affairs, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary
|
|
William E. Shea……………………………..
|
52
|
|
Senior Vice President, Treasurer, and Chief Financial Officer
|
|
David Taiclet………………………………..
|
48
|
|
President of Gourmet Foods and Gift Baskets
|
James F. McCann has served as the Company's Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer since inception. Mr. McCann has been in the floral industry since 1976 when he began a retail chain of flower shops in the New York metropolitan area. Mr. McCann is a member of the board of directors of Willis Holdings Group. James F. McCann is the brother of Christopher G. McCann, a Director and the President of the Company.
Christopher G. McCann has been the Company's President since September 2000 and prior to that had served as the Company's Senior Vice President. Mr. McCann has been a Director of the Company since inception. In June 2010, Mr. McCann was also named President of the Floral Group, which consists of the Consumer Floral and BloomNet Wire Service businesses. Mr. McCann is a member of the Board of Trustees of Marist College. Christopher G. McCann is the brother of James F. McCann, the Company's Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer.
Stephen J. Bozzo has been the Company's Chief Information Officer since May 2007. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Bozzo served as Chief Information Officer for the International Division of MetLife Insurance Company since 2001. Mr. Bozzo’s business background includes senior executive positions at Bear Stearns Inc. as Managing Director-Principle, AIG as Senior Vice President, Telecommunications and Technical Services and Chase Manhattan Bank, where he was Senior Vice President, Global Telecommunications.
Gerard M. Gallagher has been the Company's Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary since August 1999 and has been providing legal services to the Company since its inception. Mr. Gallagher is the founder and a managing partner in the law firm Gallagher, Walker, Bianco and Plastaras, based in Mineola, New York, specializing in corporate, litigation and intellectual property matters since 1993. Mr. Gallagher is duly admitted to practice before the New York State Courts and the United States District Courts of both the Eastern District and Southern District of New York.
William E. Shea has been the Company's Senior Vice President of Finance and Administration and Chief Financial Officer since September 2000. Before holding his current position, Mr. Shea was our Vice President of Finance and Corporate Controller after joining the Company in April 1996. From 1980 until joining the Company, Mr. Shea was a certified public accountant with Ernst & Young LLP.
David Taiclet has been the Company's President of Gourmet Foods and Gift Baskets since June 2009. Prior to June 2009, Mr. Taiclet served as Chief Executive Officer of the Fannie May Confections Brands since April 2006, upon our acquisition of the company. Prior thereto and commencing in January 1995, Mr. Taiclet was a Co-Founder of a business that ultimately became known as Fannie May Confections Brands, Inc. (formerly Alpine Confections, Inc.), a multi-branded and multi-channel retailer, manufacturer, and distributor of confectionery and specialty food products. From May 1991 to January 1995,
Mr. Taiclet served in a variety of management positions with Cargill, Inc, including the Strategy and Business Development Group. Cargill, Inc. is an international marketer, processor and distributor of food, financial and industrial products. Mr. Taiclet also served four years of active duty in the U.S. Army, attaining the rank of Captain.
PART II
|
Item 5.
|
MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
|
Market Information
1-800-FLOWERS.COM’s Class A common stock trades on The NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker symbol “FLWS.” There is no established public trading market for the Company’s Class B common stock. The following table sets forth the reported high and low sales prices for the Company’s Class A common stock for each of the fiscal quarters during the fiscal years ended July 3, 2011 and June 27, 2010.
| |
|
High
|
|
|
Low
|
|
|
Year ended July 3, 2011
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
June 28, 2010 – September 26, 2010
|
|
$ |
2.56 |
|
|
$ |
1.52 |
|
|
September 27, 2010 – December 26, 2010
|
|
$ |
2.75 |
|
|
$ |
1.67 |
|
|
December 27, 2010 – March 27, 2011
|
|
$ |
3.22 |
|
|
$ |
2.18 |
|
|
March 28, 2011 – July 3, 2011
|
|
$ |
3.84 |
|
|
$ |
2.26 |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year ended June 27, 2010
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
June 29, 2009 – September 27, 2009
|
|
$ |
3.52 |
|
|
$ |
1.73 |
|
|
September 28, 2009 – December 27, 2009
|
|
$ |
4.88 |
|
|
$ |
2.05 |
|
|
December 28, 2009 – March 28, 2010
|
|
$ |
2.75 |
|
|
$ |
1.78 |
|
|
March 29, 2010 – June 27, 2010
|
|
$ |
3.66 |
|
|
$ |
2.17 |
|
Rights of Common Stock
Holders of Class A common stock generally have the same rights as the holders of Class B common stock, except that holders of Class A common stock have one vote per share and holders of Class B common stock have 10 votes per share on all matters submitted to the vote of stockholders. Holders of Class A common stock and Class B common stock generally vote together as a single class on all matters presented to the stockholders for their vote or approval, except as may be required by Delaware law. Class B common stock may be converted into Class A common stock at any time on a one-for-one share basis. Each share of Class B common stock will automatically convert into one share of Class A common stock
upon its transfer, with limited exceptions.
Holders
As of September 1, 2011, there were approximately 302 stockholders of record of the Company’s Class A common stock, although the Company believes that there is a significantly larger number of beneficial owners. As of September 1, 2011, there were approximately 14 stockholders of record of the Company’s Class B common stock.
Dividend Policy
Although the Company has never declared or paid any cash dividends on its Class A or Class B common stock, the Company anticipates that it will generate increasing free cash flow in excess of its capital investment requirements. Although the Company has no current intent to do so, the Company may choose, at some future date, to use some portion of its cash for the purpose of cash dividends.
Resales of Securities
36,868,450 shares of Class A and Class B common stock are "restricted securities" as that term is defined in Rule 144 under the Securities Act. Restricted securities may be sold in the public market from time to time only if registered or if they qualify for an exemption from registration under Rule 144 or 701 under the Securities Act. As of September 1, 2011, all of such shares of the Company’s common stock could be sold in the public market pursuant to and subject to the
limits set forth in Rule 144. Sales of a large number of these shares could have an adverse effect on the market price of the Company’s Class A common stock by increasing the number of shares available on the public market.
Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer
On January 21, 2008, the Company’s Board of Directors authorized an increase in its stock repurchase plan which when added to the $8.7 million remaining on its earlier authorization, increased the amount available to repurchase to $15.0 million. Any such purchases could be made from time to time in the open market and through privately negotiated transactions, subject to general market conditions. The repurchase program will be financed utilizing available cash. As of July 3, 2011, $11.8 million remains authorized but unused.
Under this program, as of July 3, 2011, the Company had repurchased 2,569,713, shares of common stock for $14.5 million, of which $0.5 million (168,207 shares), $0.9 million (342,821 shares) and $0.8 million (397,899 shares) were repurchased during the fiscal years ending July 3, 2011, June 27, 2010 and June, 28, 2009, respectively.
The following table sets forth, for the months indicated, the Company’s purchase of common stock during the fiscal year ended July 3, 2011, which includes the period June 28, 2010 through July 3, 2011:
|
Period
|
|
Total Number of Shares Purchased
|
|
|
Average Price Paid Per Share
|
|
|
Total Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plans or Programs
|
|
|
Dollar Value of Shares that May Yet Be Purchased Under the Plans or Programs
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
(in thousands, except average price paid per share)
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
6/28/10 – 7/25/10
|
|
|
- |
|
|
$ |
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
$ |
12,278 |
|
|
7/26/10 – 8/22/10
|
|
|
7.7 |
|
|
$ |
1.69 |
|
|
|
7.7 |
|
|
$ |
12,265 |
|
|
8/23/10 – 9/26/10
|
|
|
1.8 |
|
|
$ |
2.35 |
|
|
|
1.8 |
|
|
$ |
12,261 |
|
|
9/27/10 – 10/24/10
|
|
|
19.0 |
|
|
$ |
1.76 |
|
|
|
19.0 |
|
|
$ |
12,228 |
|
|
10/25/10 – 11/21/10
|
|
|
26.9 |
|
|
$ |
1.78 |
|
|
|
26.9 |
|
|
$ |
12,180 |
|
|
11/22/10 – 12/26/10
12/27/10 – 1/23/11
1/24/11 – 2/20/11
2/21/11 – 3/27/11
|
|
|
-
-
0.8
-
|
|
|
$
$
$
$
|
-
-
2.74
-
|
|
|
|
-
-
0.8
-
|
|
|
$
$
$
$
|
12,180
12,180
12,178
12,178
|
|
| 3/28/11 - 4/24/11 |
|
|
- |
|
|
$ |
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
$ |
12,178 |
|
| 4/25/11 - 5/22/11 |
|
|
112.1 |
|
|
$ |
3.15 |
|
|
|
112.1 |
|
|
$ |
11,825 |
|
| 5/23/10 - 7/3/11 |
|
|
- |
|
|
$ |
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
$ |
11,825 |
|
|
Total
|
|
|
168.2 |
|
|
$ |
2.70 |
|
|
|
168.2 |
|
|
|
|
|
Item 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
The selected consolidated statement of operations data for the years ended July 3, 2011, June 27, 2010 and June 28, 2009 and the consolidated balance sheet data as of July 3, 2011 and June 27, 2010, have been derived from the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The selected consolidated statement of operations data for the years ended June 29, 2008 and July 1, 2007, and the selected consolidated balance sheet data as of June 28, 2009, June 28, 2008, and July 1, 2007, are derived from the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements which are not included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
The following tables summarize the Company’s consolidated statement of operations and balance sheet data. The Company acquired selected assets of Fine Stationery, Inc. in May 2011, Mrs. Beasley’s Bakery LLC in March 2011, Geerlings & Wade, Inc. in March 2009, Napco Marketing Corp. in July 2008 and DesignPac Gifts, LLC in April 2008. The following financial data reflects the results of operations of these subsidiaries since their respective dates of acquisition. During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009, the Company made the strategic decision to divest its Home & Children’s Gifts business segment to focus on its core Consumer Floral, BloomNet Wire Service and Gourmet
Foods & Gift Baskets categories. On January 25, 2010, the Company completed the sale of these businesses; refer to the Consolidated Financial Statements “Discontinued Operations” for a further discussion. Consequently, the Company has classified the results of operations of its Home & Children’s Gifts segment as discontinued operations for all periods presented. This information should be read together with the discussion in "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and the Company’s consolidated financial statements and notes to those statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
| |
|
|
Years ended
|
|
| |
Consolidated Statement of Operations Data:
|
|
July 3,
2011
|
|
|
June 27,
2010
|
|
|
June 28,
2009
|
|
|
June 29,
2008
|
|
|
July 1,
2007,
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
(in thousands, except per share data) |
|
|
|
|
| |
Net revenues:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
E-commerce
|
|
$ |
485,377 |
|
|
$ |
469,974 |
|
|
$ |
498,519 |
|
|
$ |
584,174 |
|
|
$ |
576,627 |
|
| |
Other
|
|
|
204,410 |
|
|
|
197,736 |
|
|
|
215,431 |
|
|
|
155,037 |
|
|
|
149,023 |
|
| |
Total net revenues
|
|
|
689,787 |
|
|
|
667,710 |
|
|
|
713,950 |
|
|
|
739,211 |
|
|
|
725,650 |
|
| |
Cost of revenues
|
|
|
409,703 |
|
|
|
401,908 |
|
|
|
432,744 |
|
|
|
426,916 |
|
|
|
419,083 |
|
| |
Gross profit
|
|
|
280,084 |
|
|
|
265,802 |
|
|
|
281,206 |
|
|
|
312,295 |
|
|
|
306,567 |
|
| |
Operating expenses:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Marketing and sales
|
|
|
174,758 |
|
|
|
172,640 |
|
|
|
175,839 |
|
|
|
183,430 |
|
|
|
180,238 |
|
| |
Technology and development
|
|
|
20,424 |
|
|
|
17,952 |
|
|
|
21,000 |
|
|
|
19,611 |
|
|
|
18,871 |
|
| |
General and administrative
|
|
|
50,774 |
|
|
|
50,450 |
|
|
|
50,451 |
|
|
|
52,107 |
|
|
|
50,236 |
|
| |
Depreciation and amortization
|
|
|
20,715 |
|
|
|
21,378 |
|
|
|
21,010 |
|
|
|
17,822 |
|
|
|
15,353 |
|
| |
Goodwill and intangible impairment
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
85,438 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
| |
Total operating expenses
|
|
|
266,671 |
|
|
|
262,420 |
|
|
|
353,738 |
|
|
|
272,970 |
|
|
|
264,698 |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Operating income (loss)
|
|
|
13,413 |
|
|
|
3,382 |
|
|
|
(72,532 |
) |
|
|
39,325 |
|
|
|
41,869 |
|
| |
Other income (expense), net
|
|
|
(4,077 |
) |
|
|
(5,752 |
) |
|
|
(9,295 |
) |
|
|
(4,170 |
) |
|
|
(6,133 |
) |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Income (loss) from continuing operations before income taxes
|
|
|
9,336 |
|
|
|
(2,370 |
) |
|
|
(81,827 |
) |
|
|
35,155 |
|
|
|
35,736 |
|
| |
Income tax expense (benefit) from continuing operations
|
|
|
3,614 |
|
|
|
(282 |
) |
|
|
(15,326 |
) |
|
|
13,126 |
|
|
|
14,755 |
|
| |
Income (loss) from continuing operations
|
|
|
5,722 |
|
|
|
(2,088 |
) |
|
|
(66,501 |
) |
|
|
22,029 |
|
|
|
20,981 |
|
| |
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, before income taxes
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(1,723 |
) |
|
|
(39,754 |
) |
|
|
(1,785 |
) |
|
|
(6,727 |
) |
| |
Income tax expense (benefit) from discontinued operations
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
410 |
|
|
|
(7,838 |
) |
|
|
(810 |
) |
|
|
(2,864 |
) |
| |
Income (loss) from discontinued operations
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(2,133 |
) |
|
|
(31,916 |
) |
|
|
(975 |
) |
|
|
(3,863 |
) |
| |
Net income (loss)
|
|
$ |
5,722 |
|
|
$ |
( 4,221 |
) |
|
$ |
( 98,417 |
) |
|
$ |
21,054 |
|
|
$ |
17,118 |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Net income (loss) per common share (basic):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
From continuing operations
|
|
$ |
0.09 |
|
|
$ |
(0.03 |
) |
|
$ |
(1.05 |
) |
|
$ |
0.35 |
|
|
$ |
0.33 |
|
| |
From discontinued operations
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(0.03 |
) |
|
|
(0.50 |
) |
|
|
(0.02 |
) |
|
|
(0.06 |
) |
| |
Net income (loss) per common share (basic)
|
|
$ |
0.09 |
|
|
$ |
(0.07 |
) |
|
$ |
(1.55 |
) |
|
$ |
0.33 |
|
|
$ |
0.27 |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Net income (loss) per common share (diluted):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
From continuing operations
|
|
$ |
0.09 |
|
|
$ |
(0.03 |
) |
|
$ |
(1.05 |
) |
|
$ |
0.34 |
|
|
$ |
0.32 |
|
| |
From discontinued operations
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(0.03 |
) |
|
|
(0.50 |
) |
|
|
(0.01 |
) |
|
|
(0.06 |
) |
| |
Net income (loss) per common share (diluted)
|
|
$ |
0.09 |
|
|
$ |
(0.07 |
) |
|
$ |
(1.55 |
) |
|
$ |
0.32 |
|
|
$ |
0.26 |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Weighted average shares used in the calculation of net income (loss) per common share:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Basic
|
|
|
64,001 |
|
|
|
63,635 |
|
|
|
63,565 |
|
|
|
63,074 |
|
|
|
63,786 |
|
| |
Diluted
|
|
|
65,153 |
|
|
|
63,635 |
|
|
|
63,565 |
|
|
|
65,458 |
|
|
|
65,526 |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
As of
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
July 3,
2011
|
|
|
June 27,
2010
|
|
|
June 28,
2009
|
|
|
June 29,
2008
|
|
|
July 1,
2007
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(in thousands)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Consolidated Balance Sheet Data:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash and equivalents and short-term investments
|
|
$ |
21,442 |
|
|
$ |
27,843 |
|
|
$ |
29,562 |
|
|
$ |
12,124 |
|
|
$ |
16,087 |
|
|
Working capital
|
|
|
17,778 |
|
|
|
22,963 |
|
|
|
43,679 |
|
|
|
33,416 |
|
|
|
51,419 |
|
|
Total assets
|
|
|
256,951 |
|
|
|
256,086 |
|
|
|
286,127 |
|
|
|
371,338 |
|
|
|
352,507 |
|
|
Long-term liabilities
|
|
|
32,243 |
|
|
|
48,745 |
|
|
|
73,945 |
|
|
|
63,739 |
|
|
|
78,911 |
|
|
Total stockholders' equity
|
|
|
141,661 |
|
|
|
132,626 |
|
|
|
133,783 |
|
|
|
231,465 |
|
|
|
201,031 |
|