1-800-FLOWERS.COM reports record sales as eCommerce business flourishes during COVID-19 outbreak

US gifting company 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc announced its net revenues increased 61% to $418m in Q4, compared with $259m in the previous year.

The New York-based floral and gourmet foods gift retailer said total net revenues also climbed for the full fiscal year with a 19.3% increase to $1.49bn, compared with $1.25 billion in the previous year, reflecting strong growth across its business segments.

CEO Chris McCann said: “The record results of our fourth quarter and fiscal 2020 year demonstrate the strong execution of our strategy to engage with our customers and build deeper relationships and thereby drive sustainable, long-term growth. ​

“Despite the unprecedented challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, all our associates across the company have worked tirelessly to help our customers express themselves and remain connected during a very difficult time. I thank them for their extraordinary efforts on behalf of our customers​.”

Solid growth

McCann noted that through the first three quarters of fiscal 2020 – before the impact of the pandemic – the company achieved solid growth in its top and bottom-line results, as well as strong growth in its customer files.

“This reflects our ability to leverage our business platform, including our all-star family of brands, our focus on innovation in technology and product development and, most important, providing a truly exemplary customer experience. We carried this momentum into the fiscal fourth quarter where it was accelerated by the pandemic as we saw customers increasingly turning to our brands and our expanded product offerings to help them remain connected and express themselves during a very difficult time. As a result, we achieved record top and bottom-line results for both the quarter and the full year​.”

Fourth Quarter Highlights

McCann said that through the first three quarters of fiscal 2020, prior to the onset of the pandemic, 1-800-Flowers saw strong growth.

The company reported net income was $9.8m, or 15 cents per diluted share in Q4.

Adjusted net income for the quarter was $15m, or 23 cents per diluted share, compared with a net loss of $8.3m, or 13 cents per share, compared to the same period last year.

Full Year Highlights

For the full year, adjusted net income increased 87% to $65m, or 98 cents per diluted share, compared with $34.8m, or 52 cents per diluted share, in the previous year.

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization was $32.5m in Q4 compared with a $2.7m loss in Q4 of last year.

Adjusted EBITDA increased for the year to 57.8% to $129.5m, compared with $82.1m in fiscal year 2019.

McCann said that, despite the uncertainty in the overall economy, the company has seen a continuation of strong customer demand and growth in its customer files through the first two months of its fiscal 2021 first quarter.

Positive trends

He added that the company expects these positive trends will continue into the key holiday season in the fiscal second quarter.

“While we are aware of certain headwinds, including higher operating costs due to COVID-19 safety precautions, lower wholesale orders from mass market retailers, capacity constraints at third-party shipping vendors and the potential distraction of the pending national election, we believe that we will continue to benefit from the macro shift of consumers to ecommerce, the strong growth in our customer files, the recent addition of the PersonalizationMall.com business and the prevailing consumer sentiments of expression and connection that are at the core of our vision as a company​.”