- James McCann
:"For James McCann the member (Volunteer) in the
Irish Republican Army see "James F. "Jim" McCann, is an Americanentrepreneur who founded1-800-Flowers , a corporation based in the United States which was one of the first companies to pioneer and popularize the use of bothtoll-free telephone numbers andWeb sites to sell goods and services directly to consumers.McCann was originally a social worker and administrator for
St. John's Home for Boys inRockaway, NY . In the early 1970's, McCann worked weekends at a Manhattan flower shop. In 1976, he opened his own flower shop inQueens, NY . By 1986, McCann owned and operated 14 "FloraPlenty" flower shops in theNew York Metropolitan Area .According to his autobiography, "Stop and Sell the Roses", he came up with the idea of building a nationwide flower service while "listening to the radio as he was shaving". In 1986, he bought a nearly bankrupt company in
Texas which owned the phone number 1-800-Flowers. McCann changed the name of his chain accordingly.In 1992 and 1994, McCann established deals with online pioneers
CompuServe andAOL , becoming among the first retailers to establish an online presence. Again, the success of AOL and 1-800-Flowers' exclusive agreement with the online provider was very beneficial to the company.In 1995, McCann established the Web site www.1800flowers.com, becoming one of the first retailers to establish a Web presence. The company went public when it filed its IPO in 1999 under stock ticker FLWS.
As of 2008, McCann continues to serves as the Chief Executive Officer of
1-800-Flowers . He is often sought after to speak on topics of entrepreneurship, marketing, and the Internet. He also serves on various corporate boards.Sources
* [http://www.redherring.com/Article.aspx?a=17559&hed=Growing+With+1-800-Flowers§or=Profiles&subsector=Companies Red Herring]
* [http://www.newsday.com/about/ny-iholi062705story,0,7456036.htmlstory New York Newsday]
* [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m4070/is_n121/ai_19294274 Chief Executive Magazine]
* [http://www.1800flowers.com 1-800-FLOWERS.COM Web site]
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