Technology >> CEO Interviews >> July 24, 2000
JIM McCANN, CEO of 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, has helped expand the definition
of retailing in just a decade. Mr. McCann acquired the 1-800-FLOWERS
number in 1986 after successfully building his own chain of 14 flower
shops in the New York metropolitan area. Using a thorough understanding
of his customer base and market, he focused on creating a reliable brand
name and instilling a sense of trust and convenience in an industry that
had previously had no leader. As his business grew, Mr. McCann pioneered
its entry into other retail access channels ' going online in 1992 and
opening a Website in 1995. Today, 1-800-FLOWERS.COM has a well-known
Website (1-800-FLOWERS.COM), and maintains strategic online
relationships with a number of online services, including America
Online, Microsoft Network (MSN), Excite, Snap.com, and Yahoo. A frequent
lecturer, Mr. McCann has discussed business and social issues before
AT&T, IBM and many other Fortune 500 companies. In 1997, Mr. McCann was
named Toastmaster International's Outstanding Business Speaker. Mr.
McCann's humanitarian efforts, his entrepreneurial acumen and his retail
vision have been widely recognized in the business community. Among his
many honors are the Entrepreneur of the Year award by Merrill Lynch and
Inc. Magazine, the Retailer of the Year award from Chain Store Executive
Magazine, the Advocate of the Year award from Ernst & Young and the Long
Island Association, and the Direct Marketer of the Year from Direct
Marketing Day New York. He has also been named one of the Top Business
100 in Irish America Magazine. Active in numerous business and community
organizations, Mr. McCann is on the national Boards of Directors of
Gateway 2000, OfficeMax, Inc., PETCO, Inc., and Very Special Arts, as
well as the Boards of Hofstra University and Winthrop-University
Hospital. He also supports programs for the developmentally disabled. Profile
interview with you about three to five months ago? Give us a brief
overview of 1-800-FLOWERS.COM and then tell us about the
