1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Inc. has won a bid for certain assets of the gourmet food business of the FTD Companies, including the Shari’s Berries brand.
The bankruptcy court will consider approval of the transaction at a hearing to be held on Aug. 9. 1-800-FLOWERS will acquire the assets through one of its wholly owned subsidiaries and plans to close the transaction soon after the hearing, subject to customary closing conditions.
“We are very excited to have been the winning bidder for the Shari’s Berries brand, and we are looking forward to getting final court approval and closing the transaction later this month,” said 1-800-FLOWERS.COM CEO Chris McCann. “Shari’s Berries is a leading provider of dipped berries and other specialty treats with strong brand awareness and a 15-year heritage in the gourmet gift industry. We see Shari’s Berries as an excellent fit in our ‘all-star’ family of brands and the acquisition will help further expand our authority position as a leader in the growing gourmet food and gift baskets space.”
The company’s winning bid of $20.5 million includes more than 450 domain names, copyrights, trademarks, customer data, phone numbers and other intellectual property.
McCann said 1-800-FLOWERS plans to gradually integrate the Shari’s Berries brand into its operating platform and to work to reposition the brand as a premium provider of dipped berries and other gourmet treats.
“As with all of our brands, we will focus on driving strong top and bottom-line performance for the Shari’s Berries brand by enhancing the overall customer experience and leveraging the unique capabilities of our business platform to improve its operating efficiency,” he said.
The company plans to provide further details regarding the acquisition of Shari’s Berries on Aug. 22, when it provides guidance for its fiscal 2020 year as part of a press release and subsequent conference call announcing its fiscal 2019 fourth quarter and full year results.